Data security

The average number of attempts to defraud mortgage companies each month increased by 42% this year and hit the smallest businesses hardest, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Ginnie Mae is looking for input on its proposed guidelines for electronic promissory notes and other mortgage documents that it plans to test through a digital collateral pilot.

The National Credit Union Administration has unveiled a proposal to address a federal judge's concerns that its 2016 field-of-membership overhaul could discourage lending in low-income areas.

The credit union regulator has spent 20 years asking lawmakers for greater oversight of third-party vendors. Here's why it might finally happen.

Draft legislation would amend the Bank Service Company Act to give the National Credit Union Administration third-party vendor oversight, a power it has been requesting for the better part of two decades.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization is working with stakeholders to come up with a common means of handling new tax transcript authorization requirements in the Taxpayers First Act.

The Massachusetts Democrat is questioning a claim by the agency about the amount of redress available to those affected by the credit bureau's 2017 data breach.

The timing of the settlement serves as a warning to other companies of the risks they face in an increasingly data-focused economy.

Equifax Inc. agreed to pay up to $700 million to resolve U.S. federal and state investigations into the 2017 hack that compromised some of the most sensitive information of more than 140 million people.

The agreement with authorities including the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general — and possibly the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — may be announced as soon as Monday.

A bill by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., would give the CFPB authority to oversee cybersecurity efforts at the credit bureaus.

Mortgage and real estate professionals need to do a better job of educating consumers and themselves about the growing vulnerability to wire fraud schemes during the home buying process.

Home sales in Baltimore plunged in May amid the recent ransomware attack on city government computers, including those essential for completing real estate transactions.

The agency's vote Thursday threatens to block many of the industry's communications with customers, though banks did win one concession.

Wells Fargo hired two seasoned veterans for their mortgage technology and data security expertise amid a digital era for financial industries.

First American Financial Corp. tumbled the most in nearly eight years amid concerns that a security flaw at the title insurer may have allowed unauthorized access to more than 885 million records related to mortgage deals going back to 2003.

The sale of Lisa Kloid's Northeast Baltimore house was moving along quickly. It went under contract in April after less than a month, and the settlement was moved up to accommodate the eager first-time buyers.

First American Financial may have allowed unauthorized access to more than 885 million records related to mortgage deals going back to 2003, according to a security researcher.

First-quarter operating revenue in Equifax's Mortgage Solutions unit was the lowest it's been for the fiscal period since 2016, and the company anticipates declines in this division will remain a concern.

Lenders must do more to address the safety of borrowers' personal information as digital mortgage strategies spread and regulatory scrutiny increases.