Simplify Cyber Attack Group Action Overview:
- Why: A cyber attack on Simplify’s systems has stalled conveyance transactions for many clients.
- Who: Group action law firm Keller Lenkner UK prepares to file a claim against Simplify.
- Where: The attack affects clients around the United Kingdom.
After a November cyber attack on Simplify’s systems, group action law firm Keller Lenkner UK is looking into the attack as it prepares to file a claim on behalf of the conveyancing giant’s affected clients.
According to Simplify, no client data was exposed in the attack. However, the attack forced the company to shut down its systems, and clients continue to report stalled transactions and poor communication from lawyers.
These complaints fall alongside Simplify’s latest statement that “an ever-growing proportion of our conveyancing colleagues are back up and running on core systems and progressing transactions.”
Simplify has said it is prioritising the “most urgent cases,” but its team continues to work “non-stop to get the remainder of our systems safely back up and running.”
Keller Lenkner UK specialises in data breach and cybercrime litigation. The firm intends to investigate the cyber-attack for any “potential data lost, delayed/cancelled transactions, financial implications and more.”
Conservative MP Bob Blackman is also keeping an eye on Simplify’s ongoing response after hearing stories of people sleeping in their cars due to not being able to complete on their new homes and stalled exchanges. Blackman reportedly told the Daily Express that he would support an investigation into the situation by Parliament’s leveling-up, housing and communities select committee, of which he is a member.
Cyber Attack Prompts Change.org Petition
The cyber attack has also sparked a movement to ban referral fees in conveyancing, which is the legal process of transferring property titles.
Julie Close, who works for a firm of licensed conveyancers, began a petition on Change.org to challenge the system employed by Simplify that pays referral fees to estate agencies and agents in exchange for sending work to the company.
“The payment of referral fees denies the consumer choice [and] allows for an environment where estate agents can apply pressure or manipulation to use the ‘Pet’ conveyancer,” the petition reads. The fees, which go against the public’s best interest according to the petition, are allegedly not disclosed to consumers.
As of this writing, more than 700 people have signed the petition.
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