How to protect your data when you’re off on holiday

We all love going on holiday, whether it’s somewhere in this country or abroad. With current changes to the way a lot of people are working, it’s possible that we are storing more sensitive data on our own personal laptops and PC’s. So how can we make sure we keep our devices and data safe and secure whilst we are away?

1. Book travel from secure and legitimate websites

So let’s start before we even leave home.  Scamming is big business and, unfortunately, seems to be on the rise. So, make sure if you book you holiday, flights, insurance or anything else online that you are buying directly from legitimate websites. Double check the web address and company details.  Also, the websites address should have “HTTPS” (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) in the URL, which means it’s a secured with a third party certificate.

2. Enable PINs and Passwords on devices

Turning on security features like a PIN or password to access your phone, tablet and laptop is one of the best ways to secure your device. It happens to all of us – losing our phones or ‘misplacing’ them for a while. Having a PIN or password in place should stop anyone who finds it from accessing your personal and work information. Turning on ‘Find my Phone’ apps can also help secure them as well as helping you find them!

3. Enable Multi factor Authentication

If you can add 2 factor or multi factor authentication to online accounts and services then this will help prevent unauthorised access should you lose or misplace your device.  2FA should be added to cloud services such as Office365  and online accounts systems as well as any cloud data storage like Dropbox.

4. Turn off automatic Bluetooth connectivity

Although this one can depend a lot on the type of device you are using, it is still worth remembering it! From device to device, Bluetooth setting can vary hugely, which means some electronics may not notify you when someone picks up on your active Bluetooth connectivity and takes advantage of it.  It will also save your battery to!  Similarly, make sure personal hotspots and any internet sharing apps are turned off.

5. Only use password-protected Wi-Fi networks

This is probably the most important thing to consider, especially if you’re travelling abroad. Other countries may not have the same regulations on public Wi-Fi as the UK does. Using unprotected internet connections can be an open invitation to hackers wanting to steal valuable information. Using secure WiFi connections rather than open ones is the best choice you can make when it comes to data security.  If you have to use open WiFi connections, consider implementing a VPN connection to help protect your data.   You can often add this to your Anti Virus protection if its not incuded already.