First American assures security of funds following recent cyberattack

First American, a title insurance company, states that funds at First American Trust and third-party partner banks are secure even after a cybersecurity incident occurred last week and affected the firm’s operations.

It stated that despite the disruption brought by the incident to its normal business operations, it was still able to process funds safely and securely.

“Our bank, First American Trust, continues to accept incoming wires, and all funds at First American Trust and our third-party partner banks remain secure,” the firm said.

First American previously announced on its website that its email system had been taken offline and warned its consumers about emails that were falsely claiming to be from First American, First American Title, or from FirstAm.com.

This followed First American’s filing of regulatory documents with the SEC which notified the agency about the cyberattack.

“The company is working diligently to restore those systems and resume normal operations as soon as possible but cannot estimate the duration or extent of the disruption at this time,” the firm said.

It added that it was retaining leading experts as well as working with law enforcement and notifying regulatory authorities.

First American has yet to state if the incident was a ransomware attack. The 8-K filing with the SEC said that the firm recently identified unauthorized activity on certain systems and isolated systems from the internet.

New rules mandate that companies need to quickly disclose “material” cybersecurity incidents and annually share details of their cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance with the SEC. Firms need to report issues in 8-K filings within four business days unless it is determined by the US attorney general that disclosing information would be a threat to national security or public safety.

Have thoughts on this story? Share them below.