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Did you know that you are more likely to lose a device than to have it stolen while traveling? People commonly lose their devices while going through airport security, dropping off a rental car, leaving a taxi, or checking out of a hotel room. For this reason, you should always double check that you still have your device with you when traveling. The most certain way to protect your work devices is to leave them at home. However, if you need to work while traveling (e.g. for a conference), there are certain steps that you can take to ensure your devices remain secure.
Steps to take BEFORE traveling
Steps to take WHILE traveling
What should I do if my device is lost or stolen?
Before leaving, you should ensure the following:
- Any devices with access to work data (including emails) should have a screen lock that automatically initiates after a certain period of inactivity (e.g. 5 minutes) and requires a strong password or passcode for entry. That way, even if the device is stolen or lost, someone is less likely to have access to the data
- Make sure operating systems and apps on your devices are up to date
- Install or enable anti-virus software
- Back up any important information before traveling
- If available, enable the "find my device" feature on your device(s). This will help you find your device if you lose it and in some cases allows you to disable or wipe data if needed.
- Before traveling internationally, do some research for your destination country to ensure you are following applicable data security laws. For example, encryption is illegal in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria, and not recommended in China and Russia.
- You should only use authorized laptops and devices to do work while traveling.
- Never use a public computer (e.g. in a library or hotel lobby) for work.
- Be careful when accessing public WiFi networks (e.g. in a coffee shop, restaurant, hotel). Use a private Wi-Fi connection that requires a password whenever possible.
- Ensure applications/browsers are using encryption when connecting to Internet
- Outlook uses TLS (Transport Layer Security) to encrypt your emails in transit by default. This means that the emails are secure when traveling from the sender to the recipient. For highly sensitive files or information, Outlook also has additional features to further encrypt your emails for extra layers of protection.
- When browsing the Internet, try to only access websites with a URL that begins with HTTPS (e.g. https://services.dartmouth.edu/). This indicates a more secure (encrypted) connection than HTTP.
- If possible, use a VPN when accessing sensitive Dartmouth data.
- Disable Wi-Fi/Bluetooth access on your devices when not needed.
- Do not allow others to connect devices (e.g. cell phones or USB) to your work laptop.
If your device is lost or stolen at any time, report this immediately to Information Security using one of the following methods: