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Brandywine Realty Trust says data was stolen in a ransomware attack

Photo credit: Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images

US real estate giant Brandywine Realty Trust has confirmed a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of data from its network.

In a filing with regulators on Tuesday, Philadelphia-based Brandywine described the cybersecurity incident as unauthorized access and the “use of encryption” on its internal corporate IT systems, consistent with a ransomware attack.

Brandywine said the cyberattack resulted in disruptions to the company’s business applications that support its operations and corporate functions, including its financial reporting systems.

The company said it has shut down some of its systems and believes this has curbed activity. The company confirmed that hackers stole files from its systems, but is still investigating whether any confidential or personal information was stolen.

Brandywine is one of the largest real estate investment trusts (REIT) in the United States, with a portfolio of approximately 70 properties in Austin, Philadelphia and Washington DC (as of its most recent earnings report in April).

The company’s largest tenants reportedly include IBM, Spark Therapeutics and Comcast.

Since new rules were introduced in December, publicly traded U.S. companies have been required to disclose cybersecurity events that could have a significant impact on business to investors. At the time of filing, Brandywine said it did not believe the incident was “reasonably likely to have a material impact” on its operations.