Cyberattack hits Cincinnati MLS, shuts out thousands of Realtors, homebuyers
Thousands of Realtors and homebuyers have been shut out of the local housing market for several days after the Multiple Listing Services of Greater Cincinnati's data service suffered a cyberattack earlier this week.
California-based Rapattoni Corp., which provides software and data services for more than 100 multiple listing services nationwide, sent out a memo Thursday to the Cincinnati MLS and other customers informing them that a deliberate cyberattack had crippled its service.
Several local Realtors told The Enquirer the cyberattack must have occurred late Tuesday or Wednesday because they haven't been able to use the site for at least the past two days.
That means they haven't been able to list houses for sale, advertise open houses, update listings as "sold" or "pending," or make other changes to listings.
Using social media and 'word of mouth' to tout listings
Meanwhile, potential homebuyers are missing out on new listings in a market that is already short on inventory and highly competitive.
"Talk about low inventory, we definitely have it now,'' said Nick Motz of Motz Real Estate Team in the East End. "I have two new listings I’m spreading by word of mouth through social media because we can't get it on the MLS. I've been in the business for 25 years and never seen anything like it.''
The Cincinnati multiple listing service, which serves about 6,000 Realtors, was still down early Friday morning.
Rapattoni said in its memo that it had not yet determined the full extent of the cyberattack and could not provide a timetable for restoring service.
"Rapattoni is working diligently around the clock to expedite the restoration of the system. All technical resources are devoted to this effort; however, they are unable to provide a specific estimated time of completion,'' the memo read.
'Not an ideal situation'
Anne Uchtman, president of the Cincinnati multiple listing service, said her organization was exploring other options, including setting up a temporary Facebook group for new listings.
In the meantime, Uchtman said, she's hoping to to step up the timetable for switching to a new vendor.
The multiple listing service already has a new contract with New York-based Perchwell but has continued working with Rapattoni on a month-to-month basis while making the transition, she said.
"We feel fortunate that we have a new vendor waiting in the wings,'' Uchtman said. "Obivously, it's not an ideal situation to be forced to implement a new system. But it's something we're considering sooner rather than later since there's no way to know'' when Rapattoni's system will be back online.
Multiple listing services in Northern Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio use different vendors and were not experiencing the same interruptions as the Cincinnati multiple listing service.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Realtors and homebuyers have been shut out by a cyberattack
