Holiday Travel Tips–Cyber Safe and Secure | Information Services and Technology

Holiday Travel Tips–Cyber Safe and Secure - 2017-12-20

The holiday season is when many of us take trips to visit family and friends. In our last Cyber Safe & Secure email we discussed ways to stay safe while shopping online. In this alert we give you some simple steps to keep your devices and data safe while traveling.

Be careful when connecting to free or public Wi-Fi:
Free and public wireless networks often have little or no security features. This means that the bad guys may be able to eavesdrop on, or “sniff” your web browsing data, and read your usernames and passwords.

Install find my phone apps:
Use apps like "find my iPhone" or the "Android Device Manager" to lock, erase and possibly locate your phone if it’s lost or stolen.

Stay up to date:
Be sure that any device with an operating system and software is fully patched and up-to-date with all institutional recommended security software.

Keep an eye on your electronics:
Whether a familiar place or a new one, do not leave your laptop, phone, or any other device unattended in public.

Employ strong passwords:
Make sure you have a strong password on your phone, tablet and laptop. This will serve as a barrier should something be lost or stolen. Consider using a pin instead of your device's unlock pattern. A four digit (minimum) pin will give you better protection.

Keep your data safe:
Limit the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) on your devices. If your device gets lost or stolen you will be at risk for identity theft.

Don’t let the social media world know you’re gone:
Besides local thieves targeting your house, cyber criminals will use that information to impersonate a hotel in an attempt to steal your credit card information.

Leave it at home:
If you must take your electronic device(s) with you, only include information and devices that you will need for your travel. Leave unneeded car keys, house keys, smart cards, credit cards, swipe cards, and other non-essential items you may have at home.

For additional tips to stay safe while online and traveling visit the following links:
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips
https://www.csoonline.com/article/3090441/data-protection/11-essential-d...

Cyber security is our shared responsibility, Always STOP, THINK before you click or respond to any type of electronic communication.

If you have any questions about NJIT's cyber security efforts, or need to report an incident, please contact the IST Service Desk at 973-596-2900 or http://help.njit.edu