Ah, time for vacation. It’s time to slather down in sunscreen, grab the family, and head to somewhere sunny with lots of all-you-can-eat buffets and some excellent views. Who’s worried about data security? We’ve got seafood and water toys! Well, data security, unfortunately, doesn’t take a holiday. That means that your careful vigilance about protecting your systems and data shouldn’t, either. Here’s what to know as everyone heads off to paradise, leaving their good security sense back at the office.
Security Procedures Before Folks Head Out
The seagulls aren’t the only ones eyeing your beach bag for tasty treats. Hackers and thieves tend to do that, too.
Weary travelers in need of a break aren’t the only ones lurking around top vacation destinations. Most are now frequented by hackers with their bogus Wi-Fi hotspots and malware. Before leaving, update all your devices to the most current version of your antivirus software, including your smartphone. Don’t take any devices you have no real need for; that’s just risking one being lost or stolen for no reason. The devices you do take should be thoroughly backed up before you leave. Go ahead and wipe any sensitive data off the device. You can restore that from backup once you return. Be sure to leave a copy of your backups at the office and/or at home so that anything that happens to your devices won’t also happen to your backup copies. Better yet, back all your devices up to the cloud. Consider installing an app that will allow you to remote wipe a device that gets lost or stolen. Those are last resort measures, but can prevent a data breach that would be much worse.
Security Procedures While They’re Away from the Office
Workers who don’t really need system access while they’re away should just not log in. Those workers who do have a legitimate need to log in should do so using a secure VPN. Insist that workers use good judgment with their devices, because those devices likely hold login information, even if all of the sensitive data has been deleted. Remember, just because you pay for Wi-Fi doesn’t mean it’s secure. Always assume that hackers are lurking on local hotspots, because in many cases, they are. Don’t leave bags unattended in public, and don’t assume that all is safe in the hotel. Make use of hotel safes and other security measures, when available. If you feel your device has been breached in any way during your trip, shut it down and contact IT immediately. If they have a heads-up, they might be able to stop or prevent an intrusion or data breach.
Security Procedures When Travelers Come Back from Vacation
It isn’t fun thinking about cyber security during your vacay, but your efforts will be repaid when all you bring home are seashells and a sunburn instead of viruses and a data breach. Your boss will thank you.
The first thing to do upon returning home is to run a thorough antivirus scan. Ideally, you will update your antivirus software again (in case any new virus patches have been released while you were away), and then run a whole system scan. Then you can back up any data you created while you were gone, and restore your sensitive data from backup that was deleted before you left.
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