LoanDepot Updates on Cyberattack; 16.6 Million Potentially Compromised

Based in Irvine, California, LoanDepot is a nationwide mortgage lender. Their solutions assist homeowners in purchasing land and obtaining reasonable equity costs. They are licensed in 50 states and, in 14 years, have become the most significant nonbanking lender in the US. 

In the second week of January, we featured a piece on LoanDepot; at the time, they were in the throes of a cyber skirmish, fighting for control of their discombobulated systems. Since then, they’ve regained control and released updates concerning the attack. Their most recent update suggests unfortunate news—the attackers stole the sensitive personal information of around 16.6 million people. 

How Did the Attack Occur? 

We initially reported that the LoanDepot website was experiencing disruptions. Thus, there were few details about the event and its participating assailants. However, LoanDepot published a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that offered some enlightening details. According to the form, the assailants were an unauthorized party that accessed and encrypted some of LoanDepot’s systems. Apart from these details, not much is public; moreover, officials are investigating how the assailants made the attack possible. 

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen? 

According to the most recently published event update (January 22nd, 2024), the unauthorized party gained access to the sensitive personal data of individuals in the LoanDepot system. However, the full scope of this event is not yet clear. Officials have purportedly begun notifying impacted parties; presumably, those notices will offer personalized information. Until these notices are received, the public is left to speculate about their data exposures. Most likely, this event will impact victims’ names, contact information, and demographics.

How Did LoanDepot Admit to the Breach? 

The earliest date within this event timeline is January 4th, 2024; on this day, LoanDepot submitted its SEC report, indicating that the attack had already begun before this day. The next date in the timeline occurred on January 8th, when LoanDepot publicly announced disruptions due to a cyber incident. Ten days later, around January 18th, LoanDepot began releasing their systems online with entire operations. On January 22nd, they released a preliminary update, confirming the cyber event and potential data casualties; officials also began sending the first wave of impact notices on this day.

What Will Become of the Stolen Information? 

The public does not yet know what specific data the threat actors stole in this event; however, based on the disrupted LoanDepot systems, individuals may want to take preventative action before they receive an impact notice. For example, many borrowers with a servicing portal log-in or a MyloanDepot log-in have an increased risk of data misuse. Individuals with HELOC accounts through LoanDepot are also at risk, as are those with a Mellohome account. With over 16.6 million individuals exposed, anyone associated with LoanDepot may be at risk for data misuse. 

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach? 

Associates of LoanDepot must first secure their accounts with complex passwords, preferably through a password manager. They’ll also need to enable all possible security features for their sensitive accounts, including multi-factor authentication. After this, some users may want additional protection; account monitoring services instantly respond to suspicious activity within user accounts. Although the public learned of the attack early on, each person must take action to protect themselves; victims don’t need to wait for the notice to start safeguarding their data.