By John Sileo, CSID consumer security expert
Identity theft rates skyrocket for travelers. As USA Today noted in a recent article about the topic:
Experts say business travelers are especially vulnerable because they increasingly rely on electronic devices that easily can be lost or hacked. Credant Technologies, a data-protection company, found that travelers have lost 11,000 mobile devices at the busiest U.S. airports this year, 37.5% of them laptops and 37.2% tablets or smartphones.
I recently outlined a number of tips to follow before leaving the office for business travel, such as back up all data on your devices and enable strong passwords. During your travels, though, is where the loss will occur. Stay smart and savvy while on the road—follow these tips to protect your identity and data while traveling:
Only use secure wireless connections: Avoid using free WiFi hotspots in cafes, airports and hotels to eliminate signal sniffing and wireless data theft. Make sure your IT department has enabled WEP wireless encryption on your device.
Lock it up: Most hotels have relatively secure safes in the rooms, so take advantage and lock up your devices when you do not have them by your side. If your laptop doesn’t fit in the safe, remove your hard drive from the device and lock it up. For an added level of protection, put the privacy sign on your hotel door handle at all times and opt out of hotel cleaning services.
Be smart: Use your common sense. Be careful with sensitive data and know where your devices are at all times (but do not leave your devices on a table or under the watch of a stranger at a conference or coffee shop.)
John Sileo, the award-winning author of Privacy Means Profit, delivers keynote speeches on identity theft, data security, social media exposure and weapons of influence. His clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer, Homeland Security, Blue Cross, the FDIC and hundreds of corporations, organizations and associations of all sizes. Learn more at www.ThinkLikeASpy.com.