Brokers are being urged to avoid putting client data into consumer artificial intelligence (AI) tools and to increase their data security generally, according to Mortgage Brain.

The mortgage technology firm said common data security oversights include emailing sensitive documents or reusing passwords, and not using multi-factor authentication.

Mortgage Brain said that brokers handle increasing volumes of sensitive personal and financial information. As such, risks such as phishing, ransomware, human error and third-party exposure continue to grow.

The company said brokers should:

• Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) everywhere possible • Never reuse passwords across systems • Don’t email sensitive documents • Don’t paste client data into consumer AI tools • If you wouldn’t want it public, don’t put it into AIThe warning comes as Mortgage Brain has achieved ISO 27001 accreditation, the internationally-recognised standard for information security management.

ISO 27001 sets the global benchmark for managing information security and cyber risk.

It requires organisations to embed security across their people, processes, and technology, and to be independently audited to ensure data remains confidential, accurate, and available when needed.

Mortgage Brain chief operating officer Cloë Atkinson said: “With cases of cyber security on the rise, protecting data is business critical. Brokers can trust that Mortgage Brain is doing everything possible to handle their data, and that of their clients, as safely as possible, and we have been independently audited against best-in-class security standards to prove it.

“But this isn’t enough. Brokers also need to make data security non-negotiable. Just a few simple steps, such as using AI tools with common sense and not reusing passwords, can make a big difference.”

The warning comes one month after a group of MPs said that the current hands-off approach to regulating AI in financial services could be causing harm to consumers.