Realtors say Suffolk County cyberattack impacting title process, delaying closings: "Definitely creating a level of frustration"
RONKONKOMA, N.Y. -- There's more fallout after the Suffolk County government website was hacked.
CBS2's Jennifer McLogan first told you about the story last week. Then, we checked, and it turns out many of the county services are still not working properly.
The county has not paid the ransom, and as CBS2's John Dias reports, it's drastically hurting the real estate market.
"It's definitely creating a level of frustration," Amy Pfister, a real estate agent with Signature Premier Properties, told Dias.
Pfister and other agents with Signature Premiere Properties in Ronkonkoma told Dias the market is in a new territory again -- similar to the height of the COVID pandemic, but this one is just impacting Suffolk County.
"This has put us at a standstill," Pfister said.
It's all because the computer systems of several Suffolk County government officers were cyberattacked last month, causing mayhem for the market since little to no titles or recordings were being processed for weeks.
Typically, it takes agents 30-60 days to close a property. But Pfister said now, because of uncompleted work, it could take four times longer.
"We are seeing people take three to four months to get to a closing table, because of the backup," she said.
A Suffolk County spokesperson said workers have verified more than 3,000 deeds and documents since the cyber intrusion. As part of it's rolling restoration, the agency will "continue to support the Real Estate Industry and the County Clerk's Office to ensure these instruments get recorded."
But for some, the damage is already done.
"I have seen deals fall through," said Michael Haltman, CEO of Hallmark Abstract Service.
With inflation driving up prices and interest rates rising rapidly -- sometimes changing in hours -- some home buyers can't afford to wait any longer, since their locked rate comes with an expiration.
"People have found their dream home, and now that they would have to redo their mortgage commitment at a higher rate, they can't afford it," Haltman said.
Some cybersecurity experts say Suffolk County may still be vulnerable to other attack.
"This just goes to show us, banks, the government, no one can protect our data," Paul Oster, CEO Better Qualified, told Dias.
Oster said the county should consider retraining all of its staff, since he says likely one of them accidentally gave the cyberattackers a way in.
"Every organization's data security and cybersecurity plan is only as secure as the most insecure employee," he said. "It only takes one staff member to click on the link. If they're connected to the internal servers, it's all over."
One mistake could cause potential problems for an entire county.
Suffolk County officials said after the attack it promptly hired multiple cybersecurity firms to conduct an examination to protect employees and residents, as well as restore online services.
