x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.
Graham Awards

TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Portal Data Breaches: security should tighten says tech expert

The man behind the free-to-list portal Residential People says security across all portals should be tightened, with so-called Two Factor Authentication made standard.

Last week Rightmove announced it was to roll-out two-factor authentication within Rightmove Plus to protect agents against attempts by fraudsters to steal leads and upload fake properties under their brand name.

Rightmove says two factor authentication adds an extra layer of security as it asks an agent to enter their password and also enter a one-time passcode that is generated and sent to them separately.

Advertisement

Now Joe Savage, chief technical officer of Commercial People - which operates the Residential People website - says 2FA should be a standard component of portals, and not a new or premium feature added after a mishap.

Both Residential People and its commercial counterpart Commercial People implement a 2FA system across their entire platform.

Savage says: “It is imperative for agents to realise that a site that doesn’t have a 2FA solution in place is not concerned about your brand or your personal security. 

“Cybercrime is something that we should all be vigilant about and that it's imperative that companies put strong and secure countermeasures in place to protect their users from cybercriminals or hackers who wish to steal data.

“However, there have been countless hacking incidents across global social networks such as Twitter as well as those infamous HMRC scam calls - so it was only a matter of time before someone got the bright idea to attack property portals as well.

“At Commercial People, we have always kept agent security at the forefront of our vision. Despite already implementing a 2FA system before these recent portal breaches, we believe that now is the time to remind agents and the general public that account security is a necessity.”

icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up