IG Securities Japan is mandating two-factor authentication for all clients by June 2026 following a surge in phishing attacks targeting the brokerage industry. The move comes as unauthorized access attempts have sharply increased across CFD platforms, with criminals exploiting client credentials through sophisticated scams. Once implemented, users without 2FA enabled will be locked out of their accounts entirely, forcing immediate compliance.
The timing coincides with troubling data security lapses at IG Japan, which recently disclosed that 162,879 client records were potentially accessed internally without authorization, including sensitive My Number identification data. A separate incident saw 29,734 customer records improperly stored on external servers. The broker also suspended retail vanilla options trading in March 2026, just three months after launch, though it hasn’t confirmed whether security concerns drove that decision.
IG Securities warns clients to enable authentication apps like Google Authenticator now to avoid service disruptions and overwhelmed support channels during the rollout period.
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Brokers should immediately audit their authentication protocols and data access controls, as regulatory scrutiny on client security is intensifying industry-wide following these breaches.
Source: Finance Magnates