US retail mortgage lender loanDepot struggles with cyberattack

The U.S. retail mortgage lender loanDepot says it's struggling with a cyberattack that has impacted loan processing and phone service

BOSTON -- The U.S. retail mortgage lender loanDepot is struggling to recover from a cyberattack that impacted its loan processing and phone service.

In a filing on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said data was encrypted by the “unauthorized third party” who broke into company systems. It said certain unspecified systems were shut down to contain the incident.

The Irvine, California, company said it had contacted law enforcement and was still assessing how the attack might affect its bottom line.

“We are working quickly to understand the extent of the incident and taking steps to minimize its impact," the company said.

The incident bore all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, but company spokesman Jonathan Fine would neither confirm or deny that possibility. The attack apparently began over the weekend.