Hey Brokers, Are You Authenticated? You Should Be

The latest from SSP, as ID verification becomes an integral part of digital insurance;

As the Government’s Stop! Think Fraud! campaign kicks off encouraging 2-step verification in online transactions, SSP Broker, the technology provider to the insurance broking community is rolling out Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to its 500 broker partners.

Already over 300 users of its technology working within SSP Broker’s broker customer base have adopted MFA, with more adopting the process each day. This makes SSP Broker one of the first among the market’s software houses to offer this level of protection, crucially helping brokers avoid the highly damaging loss in confidence and value of a broker business through a cyber breach.

Government data shows that 32% of businesses suffered a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. The UK was the second-most targeted country in the world for cyber-attacks, after the US last year, costing businesses an estimated £21 billion.  96% of cyber-attacks are aimed at small to medium-sized businesses like high street/regional brokers, according to BIBA. In addition, a report by Deloitte highlights that cyber-criminals have started to recognise that insurance providers possess large amounts of personal information about their customers, which is very attractive to identity thieves and fraudsters.

Martyn Mathews, MD of SSP Broker says:

“Cyber-attacks in the insurance sector are growing exponentially in the move to digitisation. Few companies understand more than SSP why it is critical to have the right cyber protections in place and this has driven our focus on addressing this issue head-on. SSP Broker has invested over £1m to ensure our clients are protected, including the introduction of a critical safety feature Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).  This simple but highly effective rollout of MFA for brokers in the UK has ensured all users of our technology are better placed to protect their customers, their supply chain, and themselves from this threat and create a safer industry for us all.

“As a result of our actions, the employees of our broker customers can securely access our broker platform to perform their work, wherever their workplace may be, using the MFA to help ensure they are not exposing their business to significant, tangible damages, loss of customer trust and real harm to the broker’s brand and market value.”