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Not-so-secure Lender’s Cyberattack Woopsie
– The lender that prided itself on security had a “small” mishap in January. Whilst the rest of us were detoxing from 2020, the company let a cyberattack affect a whopping 16.9 million consumers. Go, team!
– Because apparently feeling sorry is not enough, they’ve conjured up a little complimentary consolation. 24 months of free identity protection services and credit monitoring. Watch out folks, this party just started.
– For all those consumers wondering: “Wait, what does it mean?”, the lender chose Experian to do this gratuitous job. You know, the company that actually specializes in this sort of things.
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Experian: Identity’s Watchdog or Another Gate for Data Thieves?
– Now, our good lad Experian is not exactly flawless. Back in 2015, they had their own episode of “The Attackers Amongst Us”. It was a wild show! Hackers got around the credit bureau’s defenses and got access to data on nearly 15 million T-Mobile customers.
– Now that seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Our friendly neighbourhood lender waving the white flag of surrender to the cyberattack villain, then calling in Experian for the rescue, whilst they too had a similar issue of their own.
– The lender seems to believe in second chances, or perhaps they’re just taking the cheaper option. Either way, the consumers are left to wonder: “Can the wounded heal the wounded?”
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Trust: As Rare as a Unicorn in Real Estate & Business
– After this, trust seems as elusive as ever in the business of real estate and lender-customer relationships. And it’s not just a delicate issue here — it’s like a Unicorn. Everyone’s talking about it, but no one’s actually seen it.
– More than ever, in the era of digital banking and online transactions, the need for trust in the real estate industry is paramount — the keyword here is ‘trust’, not ‘believe’.
The Wobbly World of Finance & My Hot Take
I mean, if you’re not chuckling yet, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for. The irony of this whole situation is delicious, like a giant cream pie thrown in the face of a CEO. The lender, the fortress of trust and financial dependability, got hit by a cyberattack, and now they’re offering protection services through…drum roll please… a company that in bygone years faced a similar debacle. This is what they mean when they say: “There’s no business like show business”, ladies and gentlemen.
The real estate industry, and business generally, needs to realize that as we go deeper into the digital age, security isn’t just a tick-box exercise – it’s the main event. And currently, we’re not even prepping for the auditions. Whether you’re a giant lender or a small estate agent, picking the lock to the vault of trust with customers isn’t a heist movie – it’s an ongoing, never-ending, critically-acclaimed drama series. So, let’s cue the security theatre, and hope for a standing ovation rather than rotten tomatoes, shall we?
Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/02/27/loandepot-hackers-had-access-to-social-security-numbers-dobs/