Travel Cybersecurity

Staying secure while traveling can be especially difficult, given that you are moving through unknown geographic locations that are not always as secure as your home country. There can be malicious hackers on hotel or airport Wi-Fi, waiting to steal data from sites you visit. The person next to you in the crowd might be trying to pickpocket your phone for cash, or, at an extreme level, the government of the country you are visiting might be trying to bug your computer.

There is no way to guarantee cybersecurity, but there are several things that you can do to drastically decrease your chances of getting hacked while traveling overseas. This article looks at some of the ways that you can secure your tech.

1. Don’t bring any devices that you don’t need. This may seem obvious, but the fewer the devices, the fewer chances you have to get hacked.
2. Keep every device updated. Every device that you bring should be updated with the latest security patches before you leave. This will keep you safe from exploits that are already public.
3. Turn off services that you don’t need. If you don’t need your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, turn it off. The less time your device is broadcasting wireless services, the better. If you have your phone attached to Wi-Fi at all times, attackers have more time to plan and execute attacks on your device.
4. Check suspect networks before connecting. If you want to connect to a network, a helpful practice is to purposely enter an incorrect password for that network. If you can connect with an “incorrect” password, this means that the Wi-Fi is most likely compromised.
5. Use MFA. Using Multi-Factor Authentication can stop people who may steal your password from accessing accounts. You can choose to receive a text message or, even better, use an authenticator app to verify your identity when you log in.