CYBERSECURITY AND TRAVEL

Techniques to Keep Your Digital Footprint Safe, Both Stateside and Abroad

- Micah Dalton

The world has slowly returned to some semblance of normalcy after COVID, and with it comes an increasing desire to travel. Technology has made travel significantly easier, but this convenience also brings new risks.

When I began traveling full-time over 10 years ago, travel safety was merely a matter of personal physical safety. Never leave a bag unattended, always pay attention to surroundings, and so forth. However, in the current day and age, digital life presents new and significantly heightened threats. When you travel domestically or internationally, you’re now traveling with personal information that’s far more valuable (and that can be accessed far more readily by predators) than the contents of your bag. This shouldn’t be a deterrent to travel, so long as you prepare with a few simple measures to safeguard yourself and your devices.

In the weeks leading up to your trip, there are a couple of things you can do to protect yourself and prevent an incident from turning into a catastrophe.

Always remember: The best way to protect your stuff is to leave it at home.

People have a tendency to overpack. I always say once you’re completely packed up, cut that load in half. The same applies to your electronic devices. People own multiple devices and feel like they need to bring them all “just in case.” Don’t. You exponentially multiply your risk with each device that you bring.