When travelling abroad, everyone knows to watch out for thieves or scammers who want to take your money, wallet, or other valuable belongings. However, while protecting your physical self and the things you own is crucial, don’t forget about your cybersecurity.
Unfortunately, as much as 90% of international travellers admit to engaging in online behaviors and practices that could put them at risk of cybercrime.
With that in mind, this guide will provide some helpful tips to keep you cyber-safe on your next travel journey.
Use a VPN
The first way to protect yourself from cyber threats when travelling is to always use a VPN. These create an encrypted connection between your device and the internet, that shields your browsing activity, online behaviour, and location from cyber criminals looking to access it.
Public Wi-Fi at hotels, coffee shops, malls, and airports is notoriously risky, and using a VPN app or service helps keep you safe when connecting to these networks. In addition to the security benefits, a VPN also lets you change your location and browse as if you were in a different country entirely.
This can be a huge help before your trip, as different countries and areas may have different prices for things like flights and hotels. Using a VPN lets you easily and quickly see if you can find better deals than what you’re offered in your home country.
Have the “Find My Phone/Device” Feature Set Up
Most phones, laptops, and other devices have some kind of feature or asset-tracking service that lets you track the physical location of your device. The exact name varies, but the idea is the same from manufacturer to manufacturer.
If you lose a device or its stolen, these ensure you know exactly where it is. Some can even give you turn-by-turn directions to your device. This feature is incredibly valuable if you’re prone to leaving your devices somewhere, or you’re worried about someone stealing them.
In addition to helping you track down the device if you lose it or it’s stolen, these features often let you remotely lock or even wipe the device if you’re not able to get it back. This keeps your personal information from accidentally landing in the wrong hands.
Ensure All Devices are Secured
Next, you need to make sure that all of your devices are secured. This could be with a strong password, a PIN code, or even a type of biometric authentication like a face scan or fingerprint. These ensure that even if someone ends up with your device, they won’t be able to easily access it.
It’s very quick and easy to set up a password on your device, and the security benefits more than make up for the slight inconvenience of having to enter a passcode before using the device.
But despite the importance of securing your device and all the information it holds, 16% of Americans still don’t use any type of security feature to protect their smartphone.
In addition to setting strong passwords or passcodes, make sure you’re careful about entering them when out in public. Shoulder surfing is a major problem, which is when someone glances over your shoulder while you’re on your device to try and view your passwords or other private information.
Don’t Let Anyone Use or Hold Your Device
Last but not least, be careful about letting others use or even hold your device. While you can trust your friends and family to make a call on your phone or visit a website if their phone is dead, it’s not a good idea to extend this pleasantry to random people you meet while travelling.
Not only can they run off with your device, but they could also collect and view various different types of personal information, such as phone numbers, emails, messages, browsing history, social media details, and so on.
In some cases, they could even plug in a USB drive or other device into your computer or tablet, which could contain viruses, keyloggers, or other malware meant to damage your device or gain access to personal information.
In addition to specifically letting someone use your device, do not leave it unattended anywhere or sitting open on a table, as someone could easily use or take it without your knowledge.
In conclusion, it’s important to keep cybersecurity in mind when travelling, as ignoring the risks could have dire consequences. We hope this guide and the information included in it have helped you stay cyber-safe on your next trip.
