You travel for business. Your trips involve a lot of moving pieces. Most of which you schedule prior to leaving for the airport. But when’s the last time you checked the security of your devices? If you didn’t already know, all public Wifi networks are susceptible to hacking. Even the quaint coffee shop you enjoy because the Wifi is fast every time you travel to London can be hacked. It’s just a matter of time and effort. Will you put your business at risk using public Wifi? At Sapphire, we strongly suggest you avoid all risk with internet connection and get your own Sapphire Mifi device.
Cyber Security Tips For International Business Travel
Tip #1 – Lock Your Devices
We don’t mean turn them off or put them to sleep. We mean “lock” them. Most phones, laptops, and tablets can be locked with a pin number or password. Before you leave for your trip, make sure and setup a lock with a code you can remember.
Tip #2 – Examine Public Wifi Before Connecting
It can be tempting to grab a coffee, sit at a table, and immediately connect to a cafe’s Wifi while you’re traveling internationally. But be aware, the laws and regulations behind network security are different across countries, which can make public Wifi networks susceptible to fraud or hacking.
The best way to protect yourself when connecting to public Wifi is to purchase a Sapphire Mifi device. It allows you to connect to the internet from over 100 countries around the world through your own device. It’s encrypted and password protected, which means you are the only one using it.
Still convinced you should use public Wifi? Follow these steps to better protect your data and devices:
- Avoid non-encrypted public Wifi
- Ask hotels and cafes about their Wifi security protocol
- Avoid accessing personal accounts while on unsecure Wifi network
- Disable auto-connect to control when and how you connect to the internet.
Tip #3 – Disable Auto-Connect
You may not have known this, but if you’re devices are active and have the auto-connect feature enabled, you could get hacked at any moment you’re near a public Wifi network. If you take a stroll through downtown and stop near a restaurant, your active device, like your phone or tablet, will attempt to connect to the public Wifi. This can result in you being connected to the internet without knowing it, which offers hackers opportunities to steal your data.
Tip #4 – Decrease Location Sharing
Guess how criminals are determining which homes to rob in neighborhoods? Social media. When you tag yourself in places away from home, it informs the people in your network that you’re somewhere other than your house. If a criminal can figure out where you live, which is relatively easy to do, they can discover when you’re out of the country and rob your home. All because you wanted to share with your network that you were on business in London.
Tip #5 – Update Passwords Before And After Traveling
It may seem daunting to do, but, either find a password security extension or app on your devices that does this for you, or do it manually. Although you haven’t been targeted digitally on your trip, it may be a month or two later when your identity has been stolen and used in another country. Update your passwords to better protect your data.
#6 – Disable Bluetooth
Most business travelers do not know their bluetooth is on and available for connection. Some use wireless devices like their headphones or another device. Make sure that when you’re done using your bluetooth capable devices to turn off the bluetooth connectivity. Hackers have been able to brute force connect to devices over bluetooth and hack data.
Want to avoid all of these cyber security risks? Purchase a Sapphire Mifi device and connect to the internet on your own terms.