Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Luzerne County’s property assessment database has now been down for three weeks due to a Memorial Day weekend cyber attack, causing disruption in the real estate business.
Property closings and mortgage-related transactions have stalled because database information is needed to proceed, officials have said.
“It’s time to get moving here. This is messing with people’s lives,” said Realtor Terry August, president-elect of the Luzerne County Association of Realtors.
County Administrative Services Division Head David Parsnik had said last week the database reactivation was delayed because information technology workers had to review numerous stored versions to make sure they load the most recent one possible to avoid any data loss.
He said Monday a correct version has been located, but workers were unable to open the files to retrieve the necessary data.
“We can see them but can’t get at them,” Parsnik said Monday afternoon, referring to the files.
If a feasible fix was not identified soon, Parsnik said the county would have to call in another vendor or contractor to extract the files.
He noted he had no evidence the issue was associated with any locking of data by an attacker seeking a ransom, stressing no demands for payment have been made.
Once the files are extracted, the assessment database will take about 10 to 12 hours to load back into operation because it contains a massive amount of data, including property descriptions and assessment history for more than 167,800 parcels, he said.
That doesn’t include time required to examine the loaded data before it goes live, he said.
“There’s a sense of urgency because the assessor’s office can’t do anything without it,” Parsnik said. “It’s our last hurdle. This is the last piece.”
A mortgage foreclosure sheriff’s sale scheduled for June 21 has been rescheduled to Aug. 2 “due to a Luzerne County emergency affecting the computer systems within the county,” a legal advertisement said.
August said buyers must pay to extend expiring mortgage rate locks and make temporary housing arrangements if their closings are pushed back.
She had to inform the sellers of a property she is handling that an upcoming scheduled closing may be delayed.
“I’d rather let them know now than spring it on them the day before,” August said. “It’s very, very frustrating.”