Posted on June 26, 2025June 26, 2025

If you’re a business leader, travel comes with the territory. So, when you’re rushing from gate to gate, dragging along your backpack and carry-on, you know you shouldn’t be logging into airport Wi-Fi. But when you look around, everyone else is doing it anyway. So is it really that risky?

The answer, of course, is yes. Why? Simply put: cybercriminals love business travelers.

Picture an airport from the perspective of a hacker: A building jam-packed with distracted, tired, business professionals who are juggling deadlines, digital boarding passes, and physical cups of coffee, all while trying to stay connected with their families, clients, and HQ.

It’s not a public space—it’s a buffet. Unsecured devices. Rushed logins. Exposed data. The perfect virtual environment to blend in and walk away with everything from passwords to client files.

Now, there’s endless advice online about how to stay safe while traveling, but remembering it all when you’re half-awake at a terminal is another story. So we’ve cut down to the bare essentials. This guide gives you one clear, practical checklist of cybersecurity tips to help you:

• Spot the actual dangers and understand how cybercriminals target travelers

• Protect your data without slowing down your trip

• Create simple habits you and your team can actually remember and use

So, stop packing for a moment and let’s jump in.

Why Travel Cybersecurity Matters

Traveling for business used to mean just bringing your suitcase and a sleep mask. But nowadays you and your employees are also carrying a ton of sensitive data. One small misstep, like logging into a sensitive account on a spoofed public wireless network, and everything could be compromised.

And the danger is not subsiding anytime soon with a recent study by Booking.com showing a 900% surge in travel scams in the past 18 months.

Here’s what this risk looks like in real life:

• Air Canada app breach: Hackers tried to access customer data through the airline’s app, forcing a lockdown of 1.7 million accounts.

• Atlanta airport ransomware attack: Wi-Fi was shut down after hackers hit the airport’s systems, exposing data from over 20,000 people.

• Marriott data breach: Personal data from 500 million guests was stolen, much of it from people who entered information through hotel apps or shared systems.

Though these weren’t all caused by one careless click, in every case travelers who followed basic travel cyber security habits had a better chance of avoiding the worst fallout.

And that’s precisely why travel cybersecurity matters. Because your exposure doesn’t depend on whether you’re being targeted—it depends on whether or not you’re prepared.

The Four Major Cybersecurity Threats While Traveling

So what exactly do you need to be looking for? Here are the most common ways cybercriminals target travelers:

Public Wi-Fi Traps

Open public Wi-Fi networks in airports, hotel rooms, and cafés are super convenient—and, unfortunately, a major risk. You might think you’re logging into “Airport Guest Wi-Fi,” but attackers can easily create fake networks that look identical to the ones you’re trying to connect to. Once connected, they can then intercept traffic or redirect you to spoofed login pages without you realizing it.

Travel Phishing

Scammers know when you’re on the go you’re expecting tons of updates: flight changes, hotel confirmations, digital check-ins. That’s why AI-powered phishing is especially effective when you’re traveling. A text or email looks legit, you’re in a hurry, and suddenly you’ve clicked on a bad link or entered sensitive information.

Auto-Connect and Bluetooth Vulnerabilities

Most mobile devices are set to automatically connect to available wireless or Bluetooth networks. That setting makes life easier at home but increases risk on the road. Attackers can use those open connections to access your device or inject malware.

Malicious Charging Stations (Juice Jacking)

Those convenient USB ports in airports and hotels can also be rigged to install malware or extract data the moment you plug in. This clever attack, known as “Juice jacking”, doesn’t require any clicks. It just takes one connection.

A Quick Pre-Trip Cybersecurity Checklist to Secure Your Devices

With these threats in mind, protecting your company’s data should start before your trip begins. Taking a few minutes to prep your devices and settings can prevent you from scrambling and making compromises once you’re on the move. So, here are six actions we recommend you take before any trip.

Update and Secure Your Devices

Outdated systems are easier to exploit. Software updates often contain patches for security vulnerabilities that attackers know how to find and use.

Before your trip:

• Update your operating system software, apps, and security software

• Install mobile software updates across all internet-enabled mobile devices, laptops, or work-related tools

• Travel with encrypted devices whenever possible

Use Strong Authentication

Weak or reused passwords are one of the easiest entry points for hackers. Hopefully you are already using a password manager or another system for creating unique, strong passwords for all your different accounts. But adding layers of login protection helps stop them even if they get your credentials.

To reduce login risk:

• Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) for all critical accounts, especially financial accounts, cloud services, and email

• Only enable location services for apps that absolutely need them while traveling, otherwise, keep them off to reduce background tracking

Check Your Connectivity Settings

Your devices are designed to connect to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth automatically, but that feature can leave you exposed in public spaces. Disabling it gives you more control over when and how you connect.

Before you go:

• Turn off auto-connect to Wi-Fi to prevent joining available wireless networks automatically

• Disable remote connectivity features you don’t need including file sharing, remote login access, and hotspot tethering

• Disable Bluetooth networks unless you’re using them

• Review location services and limit access to only essential apps

Minimize Your Exposure

The less sensitive data you bring, the less there is to access. Keeping your digital footprint light makes you a smaller target if something goes wrong.

Steps to take:

• Back up important files to a secure cloud service

• Remove any sensitive information you won’t need on the trip

• Avoid storing login credentials or access tokens on your travel device unless absolutely necessary

Enable Remote Wipe and Tracking

Losing a device is stressful. But being able to track, lock, or erase it remotely can prevent a major breach. These tools work best when they’re set up in advance.

Before you leave:

• Activate Find My Device or similar tracking tools on your mobile phone, tablet, and laptop

• Link each device to an account you can access from your home or work computer

• Make sure you know how to wipe data remotely if a device is lost or stolen

Make This Standard Across Your Team

These types of travel cybersecurity practices should be standard protocol across your entire team. Embedding them into your company’s culture reduces risk across the board.

To keep your team aligned:

• Share this checklist ahead of all work-related travel

• Build it into onboarding for employees who travel frequently

• Encourage regular reminders before conferences, off-sites, or client visits

Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Your Data While on the Move

Now that you’ve prepped the right way, simply avoid these potential pitfalls to significantly reduce your risk.

Don’t Use Public Wi-Fi Or If You Do, Use a VPN

As we discussed earlier, you want to avoid public Wi-Fi hotspots. It also goes without saying that you want to avoid logging into sensitive accounts or accessing confidential data on publicly accessible computers, like those in hotel business centers.

However, it might be unreasonable to expect yourself or your employees to not get any work done or access any work accounts over Wi-Fi, especially, during long layovers. If you do need to use a public wireless network, protect yourself and your company by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) every time you connect.

With a VPN, your internet activity is sent through an encrypted server that protects it from others on the network. This means other people using the same Wi-Fi network as you can’t see what you’re doing online.

Skip the Public USB Ports

Plugging your phone or tablet into a free charging station could lead to being the victim of a malware or data theft tactic known as juice jacking. So, to stay powered and protected:

• Avoid public USB ports at airports, lounges, and other public areas

• Use wall outlets or your own portable battery pack instead

• Consider issuing company-owned power banks to frequent travelers

Take a Breath, Before You Take an Action

Scammers know you’re expecting updates—flight changes, hotel confirmations, digital check-ins. That’s why AI-powered phishing is especially effective when you’re traveling. A text or email looks legit, you’re in a hurry, and suddenly you’ve clicked on a bad link or entered sensitive information into a fake site.

To combat this, train yourself and your team to:

• Slow down and take a breath before clicking any links in texts or emails

• Phishing messages often mimic exact login procedures from airlines or hotels so double-check the sender info and URL before you input any passwords or info

• Be wary of any “urgent” alerts or messages, especially “fraud alerts”

• Manually visit websites instead of clicking links when possible

• Flag and report suspicious messages. Don’t guess, verify

Keep Devices Physically Secure

Obviously it’s also much easier to gain access to your systems if a thief physically has your device. So don’t discount the risk of physical theft as well.

Minimize risk by:

• Keeping laptops and other electronic devices with you whenever possible

• Not leaving unattended laptops or other devices where someone could access your mobile device data, especially in public or semi-public areas.

• Locking screens when not in use, and using privacy filters when working in public

• Using hotel safes when leaving crucial devices in the room for long periods of time

Don’t Overshare in Real Time

Posting about where you are and where you’re going is great for personal vacations. But for business it can make you a target for phishing scams or impersonation and provide cybercriminals with additional resources to target you with.

Stay off the radar by:

• Avoiding real-time social posts that share your hotel, event, or location and share only after the fact

• Being cautious when scanning QR codes from flyers, badges, or shared displays

• Assuming any local networks abroad are less secure than what you use at home

Keep It Simple. Make It Routine.

Most threats can be avoided with a little prep and the right company-wide practices. You don’t need your team to be security experts. You just need them to be consistent with their actions.

Start by:

• Making this guide part of your travel process

• Sharing it across your organization—especially with anyone who works remotely or travels frequently

• Building training into your onboarding or pre-travel approval process

• Encouraging everyone to take a breath and verify any security concerns when they’re in a rush

Is your team constantly on the move? If you need help getting your devices, settings, and processes prepped so you stay safe no matter where you do business, RTS has extensive experience getting mobile teams trained and travel ready.

Contact Krister Dunn at kristerd@reliabletechnology.co to learn more about how we can help you protect your business.