A cyberattack that disrupted property transactions across Romania has underlined the importance of security, governance and accountability as the UK moves towards a more digital homebuying process, according to the Open Property Data Association (OPDA).
The attack took systems operated by Romania’s National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration offline, including e-Terra, its national cadastral and land-registration platform.
Without access to land-registry extracts, notaries were unable to authenticate property sales or register mortgages normally. New applications were also blocked and existing cases left unprocessed.
Romanian authorities said the agency’s core technical and legal databases, including ownership and mortgage records, were not affected. Claims that the entire database was deleted remain unverified, while the agency said backup copies were stored across multiple locations.
UK SAFEGUARDS
The incident has raised questions about the resilience required as property markets become increasingly reliant on connected digital systems.
Maria Harris (main picture, inset), Chair of the OPDA, says: “The cyberattack on Romania’s Land Registry highlights the importance of strong governance, security standards and oversight in any digital data-sharing ecosystem.
“The Romanian Land Registry is a centralised system rather than a trust framework, and it does not publicly set out the technical and security standards it operates to beyond EU and GDPR requirements. By contrast, the Smart Property Data Scheme being developed in the UK is being designed around a framework of accreditation, accountability and ongoing assurance.
“The scheme will set, monitor and govern the performance of all participants against minimum standards covering cyber security, data protection and secure data-exchange protocols.
“Organisations will need to demonstrate compliance with these requirements to participate, helping to create a trusted and resilient ecosystem.”
CLEAR ACCOUNTABILITY
The Smart Property Data Scheme is intended to support secure information sharing between estate agents, lenders, conveyancers, surveyors and other organisations involved in property transactions.
Unlike a single central database, a trust framework establishes common standards and rules governing how participating organisations access, exchange and manage information.
Harris adds: “While no digital environment can eliminate cyber risk entirely, robust standards, oversight and clear accountability will play a critical role in ensuring property data can be shared safely and securely, giving consumers and industry greater confidence in the homebuying process.”
