Cybersecurity In-Depth: Getting answers to questions about IT security threats and best practices from trusted cybersecurity professionals and industry experts.
Should I Have a Security Travel Policy to Protect Devices and Sensitive Data?
Mobile devices are lost or hacked while in transit far too frequently. Here are some steps to protect your business.
Question: Should I have a security travel policy to protect devices and sensitive data, particularly when our staff are crossing international borders?
Kurtis Minder, CEO of GroupSense: Absolutely, unless you don't mind constantly losing those devices. According to a Ponemon Institute and Dell study, 12,000 laptops are lost each year in airports alone. Laptops, mobile phones, and other devices are also frequently left in cabs, bars, ballparks — you name it. And the passwords people use on their laptops are easily cracked because most people use the same passwords across multiple accounts, so some simple credential stuffing will give bad people access to your system. We saw this happen when Disney+ launched, and the same approach can be used to gain access to your laptop and all of the systems and accounts on it.
What should a travel policy include? First of all, rigid requirements around disk encryption, VPN use, and secure communications (encrypted messaging, calling, etc.) should be standard for international travel. Further, for some countries, policy may dictate that corporate devices or devices containing corporate or client information cannot be taken. In this case, the company may offer "burner" devices specially configured for the team member and the trip mission.
Related Content:
About the Author
You May Also Like
DevSecOps/AWS
Oct 17, 2024Social Engineering: New Tricks, New Threats, New Defenses
Oct 23, 202410 Emerging Vulnerabilities Every Enterprise Should Know
Oct 30, 2024Simplify Data Security with Automation
Oct 31, 2024Unleashing AI to Assess Cyber Security Risk
Nov 12, 2024