Spring is around the corner, and that means you’re probably busy making travel plans for conferences, vacations, college visits for your kids and more. You may as well just sell your house and go live in the airport for the next several months!

Traveling can be very exciting, but it can also be a major cybersecurity risk if you decide to bring your work along with you. As we discussed in a post from yesterday, for instance, public WiFi is everywhere;  but it’s highly vulnerable to hacking and malware. So it’s vital to have your wits about you when carrying around valuable information.

Here are three things you can do to protect your data while traveling :

1.Set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN):  A VPN is like a private tunnel that you can set up to establish secure connections over any public or private network. Having a VPN is like having your own private Web connection, fortified by encryption and other security protocols. It’s not very expensive or difficult to set up a VPN, and having one can go a long way in preventing an intruder from stealing your data.

2.Centralize your digital assets: Another thing you can do is to invest in an endpoint management system to centralize your applications and files. This type of setup involves storing data on a private server within your organization, as opposed to on your machine. This way, if someone steals your machine or hacks into it, they’ll have a much harder time accessing your private files.

3.Use strong authentication: Chances are likely that your machine has a camera, a microphone and possibly even an embedded fingerprint scanner; if you’re using an HP laptop, look for a small box below the numerical pad. All of these tools can be used to set up biometric security checkpoints. So if someone swipes your device and it’s protected with one of these technologies, the thief will have a very difficult time getting inside. It will be even harder for them if you take a multimodal approach and tack on a strong password or security questions.

Want some additional cybersecurity advice before you hit the road? Contact Apex Technology Services today!

A new breed of hacktrepeneurs has awoken and they have little to fear and everything to gain by infecting as many companies as possible and extorting money from them. Apex Technology Services stands ready to protect your company regardless of whether it’s located in New York City; White Plains, New York; Connecticut; Australia; Europe; or anywhere else. Our full suite of cybersecurity and IT support services is at your disposal, enabling you to spend less time worrying about and more time growing your business.

To ensure your security, consider one of our most popular services — Auditing & Documentation — which pinpoints vulnerabilities in your infrastructure, process flow and internal security procedures.