Zopa adds two-factor authentication to beef up security

ZOPA has bolstered its security by adding two-factor authentication for investors.

The peer-to-peer consumer lender said it had been instituting the changes “over the last few months” in order to protect investors’ details.

Emails sent out to users noted that the extra layer of security would soon be a requirement for all customers.

Investors using a security question to log in will be prompted to change the process to receive a code via email or SMS.

Read more: Zopa plans £200m fundraise ahead of bank launch and IPO

“We’ve been rolling out two-factor authentication for all of our customers, upgrading the way we protect them and making it more secure for people when they log in into their Zopa account,” said a Zopa spokesperson. “Customers accessing their Zopa account will use their username, password, and a code that they can receive either by email or SMS, to log in.”

Data breaches from financial services firms reported to the Financial Conduct Authority rose 480 per cent in 2018, according to recent research from law firm RPC.

Read more: Zopa looks to grow secured car finance offering

Security experts at IBM also found that the finance industry is most at risk from hacks and data leaks.

According to their 2019 XForce Threat Intelligence report, the most common type of hack uses misconfiguration, where malicious attackers exploit poorly-designed security procedures or weak passwords to gain access to customer accounts.

Also frequently reported are SQL injection attacks where hackers use website database vulnerabilities to bypass security measures.

Read more: Zopa survey finds Brits are more open about bank balance than Netflix password