Our security policy

Introduction

1. This Security Policy sets out the principles governing the way we secure our website (the "Site"). There are two forms of registration on the Site depending on whether you are accessing and using the Information Services (the ii research account) or the Trading Services parts of the Site. Each Trading Service has its’ own set of Terms and Conditions which you must agree to before using that Service and which govern Access and Security to that particular Trading Service. By registering for either type of service, you confirm you have read and understood the principles set out below.

Defined terms in this Security Policy have the same meanings as in the General Site Conditions. References to 'Interactive Investor, our, us or we' in this Security Policy means Interactive Investor Services Limited an independent intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, previously known as the Financial Services Authority.

Accessing the site and registration

Registering for Information Services (research account)

2. Before you can use any of our Information Services (including any of the Subscription Services) you will need to complete our online registration process. As part of this process you will be asked to provide a user name and password ("User Name" and "Password"). The criteria for the User Name and Password are set out during the registration process as well as in this document.

3. Whenever you visit the Site and wish to access and use the Information Services you will be asked to enter your User Name and Password. Failure to do so will mean that you will be denied access to the Information Services.

Your user name and password

Choosing a User Name

4. Free research account users need to use a valid email address for a User Name to log in. 

Choosing a Password

5. The following are some guidelines on how to choose your Password:

Free research account users should follow these guidelines for choosing a Password: 

• 8 or more characters
• at least 3 of the following 4 character types: lower case letters (a-z), upper case letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), special characters (e.g. !@$%)
• your Password must not include words or numbers from your Personal Information;
• your Password should not include easily guessed words.

6. Your User Name and Password are case sensitive, so take care when typing them in. If your User Name or Password is rejected when you try to login, make sure the caps lock key is not on and that you use the correct case for each letter.

7. If you contact us by phone, we may ask for your User Name but we will NEVER ask for your Password.

8. You should NEVER send us your Password via email as this could be intercepted and read by unauthorised people.

If you forget your Password

9. When you go to log in to ii, enter your account number/username and click on 'forgotten your password?'. There you will be asked to answer a few questions and provide the last four digits of your mobile phone number to verify your account. You'll then receive a password reset token by text message. 

10. If you have not previously saved your mobile number in your account or if you no longer have access to the number you have saved then please call us on 0345 607 6001 and we will help you regain access to your account. 

Communicating securely

Keeping information secure

11. We use the latest encryption technology on all the Trading Services parts of the Site to prevent anyone else from seeing your details, payment card details or transaction information. We support 128-bit SSL encryption, which is the current industry standard for financial transactions. Your browser must support SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and it will tell you when you login if your browser does not support such security features. Our systems also support 64-bit (or lesser) SSL encryption however encryption levels below 128-bit should not be considered secure.

12. Your browser tells you when you're connected to a website using encryption in slightly different ways. Your browser may also warn you if you are connecting to a secure website. This is an option that you can set in your browser. Websites that use encryption have a web address that begins https://. When you use our Site, this will appear in the web address field of your browser when you connect to any part of the Site that is secure.

13. Many of the Trading Services require us to pass information between our systems and those of our agents and Services Providers as described in the Privacy Policy. We insist that all our agents also use encryption so that your details remain secure.

Leaving your computer unattended

14. Take care not to leave your browser unattended after you login. In case you forget to close it when you leave, you will be automatically logged out of your Interactive Investor Trading Account about 20 minutes after your last action on the Site. You will need to login again when you return.

Ending your session and logging off

15. When you have finished using the Site, you should click on the Log out button in the top righthand corner of each page screen or simply close your browser to remove your personal details from the computer's memory. This also stops someone else from looking back through the pages you have visited to see your personal information. If you login on a different computer or in a new browser session your original logged in session will be terminated.

Do not email us your personal information or security details

16. You can email us if your enquiry is simple. Internet email is not a secure method of transmitting personal data, therefore when you email us with an enquiry you must NEVER include security information such as your Password. Similarly we will not disclose Personal Information via email.

17. If you have any enquiries about your Interactive Investor Account, please contact the Interactive Investor Contact Centre on 0345 607 6001, send us a secure message from within your account or write to:

interactive investor
2nd floor
One Embankment
Neville Street
Leeds
LS1 4DW

Office or third-party internet policy

18. If, to access the Site, you use a computer at work or college or the computer is owned and operated by someone else (e.g. at an internet café), information sent between you and Interactive Investor either through the Site or an email, may be intercepted, recorded and/or monitored by the network administrator or owner of the computer. Before accessing the Site, sending emails or providing us with an email address for such a computer, you should refer to the internal policies relating to use of the internet and such computers. There may be conditions and restrictions that apply to you when you use such computers.

Storing your details securely

19. We store personal data securely on internal networks and the networks of our agents. These are not directly accessible from the internet.

Constant monitoring of the system

20. To maintain a secure service, we constantly monitor our systems for unauthorised attacks. These attacks include attempts to gain access to customer details and deny access to authorised users. Our systems use sophisticated technology to ensure these attacks do not compromise the security of the Trading Services. We reserve the right to lock your Interactive Investor Account while we investigate possible security problems. In some cases we may need to take the Site out of service in order to investigate and rectify security issues.

Use of cookies

21. Our Site uses cookies to allow customers to access the services and to give us an overall view of visitor habits and volumes. For more information on which cookies we use and how we use them, please refer to our Cookies Policy.

Data protection

22. We treat all our legal obligations seriously with regards to the storing and processing your personal data. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.