How to Stay Cyber Safe During Summer Vacation

It's Summer travel season, and if your family is like my family, you have a trip or two planned in the coming months. It's always important to put together a travel checklist of items to do before you take off on that trip, such as having your neighbor collect your mail, hiring a pet sitter, and having family members keep an eye on your house. There is another set of items you need to add to your checklist, and it's protecting yourself from cybercrime as you travel. When you travel, you carry a wealth of information, such as credit card information and passports/personal identification, which are attractive targets for cybercriminals. What's worse, criminals now have the help of AI to make these attacks more effective. Want to stay safe this summer? Here's what you need to know

1. Password Protect Your Devices. Before you take off on your trip, turn on the lock-screen passcode for your mobile devices and put a password on your laptop. If your device is lost or stolen, there won’t be much of your personal information that can be easily accessed.

2. Take caution when paying. When travelling, don’t use your debit card at stores or restaurants. Use credit cards instead. Many stores have security systems with their point of sale, but don't take the chance that they don't. Credit cards are safer to use when travelling because if you are a victim of a breach, it's easier to recover with a credit card than a debit card. Watch out for credit card skimmers as well when you are travelling. If you have to use an ATM, find one inside a bank where the chance of an ATM having a skimmer attached is reduced. Also, shop only at merchants who have tap to pay with Apple Wallet, Samsung Wallet or Google Wallet, as these methods are the most secure payment methods out there. Also, when dining at restaurants, consider only eating at restaurants that take payment at your table.

3. Don't Use Public Wi-Fi (If you can help it). When you travel, it's tempting to use public wi-fi because it helps you save on your data plan. I wouldn't suggest doing so because it increases the risk of criminals accessing your sensitive data. If you have to use public wi-fi, do the following things. First, download and use a VPN (virtual private network) on your computer or smart device. A VPN creates a tunnel that protects the data you look at and share over the Internet from prying eyes. A VPN isn't anti-virus software and can still put you at risk for hacks and attacks. Your best option is a mobile hotspot, use your phone or tablet's mobile connection. Whether you are travelling domestically or abroad, check with your mobile carrier to see what plans are available.

4. Watch What Travel Information You Share on Social Media. It's fun to be able to share social media posts when you are travelling, but be careful what information you share. Criminals can use your travel to target you. Attacks can come in the form of burglary or cybercrime campaigns directed at you and your family, based on the information you shared online. If you have to share on social media, you should wait to share all of that fun travel information when you return home.

5. Back Up Your Data. Yes, I know I'm always talking about backing up your data, but what would you do if you lost your device with all of those travel photos? You would probably head for the nearest cliff and dive off. If you take steps to back up your data, you don't have to worry if your device is stolen or damaged. I always recommend people use their smartphone as their primary camera when travelling. It's light, and with the help of Google Photos, your images and videos are instantly backed up to the cloud. If you're an Apple device user, you can use iCloud as well to back up your stuff. You also have the option of using Amazon Photos for unlimited photo backup as well as your Microsoft OneDrive account.

6. Bring Your Own Battery Charger. Free USB power charging stations sound cool, but they also put you at risk. Cybercriminals can make changes to USB power stations to download data from your phone or install viruses. Instead, bring your own battery charger for your phone or use traditional wall plugs instead of USB ports.

7. Change Your Passwords After Your Trip. Consider changing all your passwords after your trip just in case any of your data was accessed during your trip.

It’s hard to protect against all of the cybercrime threats out in the world, but it isn't impossible. My cybersecurity travel trips will help you add much-needed digital defenses against the hackers and other cybercriminals who want to take advantage of you as you travel.

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