How to Keep Your Business Data Safe When Travelling Abroad

Despite the growth of online communicators, corporate travels are still an integral part of every international business. However, before sending your employers abroad, you should remember that they carry your company’s sensitive information on their devices. And since they require an internet connection to work, ensuring they are secure while travelling is a must. 

Unfortunately, it’s something many entrepreneurs underestimate. They forget to equip their employees with the necessary and top-quality cybersecurity tools. It’s a mistake that can lead to incredibly severe consequences, like identity theft or stealing confidential company information. That, in return, can cause your company to lose its clients and reputation. And trust us, we’re not exaggerating. 

And how exactly can you protect your employees from potential cyber-attacks? That’s what we’ll focus on below. In the following article, you’ll find all the information about keeping your business data safe while travelling, including finding reliable managed SOC services, using VPN, or using strong passwords. 

Find a Reliable Managed SOC Service

Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) is an outsourced service where security professionals work together to identify and contain cyber risks. The main goal of this service is to keep hackers away from your business and keep your personal information secure. 

For instance, if your employee is abroad and works in the cloud, your SOC provider will see a threat as soon as it appears, notifying you about it and reacting immediately. It can reduce your risk of data getting stolen, ensuring more advanced protection. 

Ensure Your Anti-Virus Protection Is Top-Quality

Although it’s obvious that every device should have reliable antivirus software, many people still underestimate all potential threats. It should be the core of your cybersecurity, whether you or your employees are on a trip, at the office, or at home. 

With that being said, make sure you install a state-of-the-art antivirus programme on each of your company’s devices, including laptops, computers, or mobile phones. Additionally, ensure that every employee doesn’t use their phone or computer while working unless their device is protected.

Avoid Public Wi-Fi Networks

Since your employees require access to the internet in order to do their jobs, they might be tempted to use public wi-fi networks while on a business trip. Well, the thing to know about them is that they’re extremely dangerous, even those that are password protected. 

By using public wi-fi networks, you risk exposing your data to cybercriminals. That’s why you should provide your workers with unlimited access to online services via their mobile devices. Encourage them not to use free wi-fi and ensure you pick reliable hotels with safe web connections. And if they have no other choice than to connect via public wi-fi, ask them to use a VPN. And that brings us to the next point.

Use Virtual Private Network

Investing in a company’s VPN is a necessity if you want your business data to stay safe during travel. It gives a user online anonymity and protection by creating an encrypted and private network. It works by masking an IP address, ensuring one’s online activity is untraceable. 

It’s especially useful when using a public internet connection, keeping your company’s and personal information safe from hackers. What’s best about it, though, is that VPNs are relatively affordable, and lots of services available have special bundles for businesses.

Keep Your Passwords Strong

Everybody knows that every device or online tool you use has to be protected by a strong password. Yet, so many people still use terrible and easy to remember passwords, believing that nothing bad will happen. Doing that is like inviting a thief into your house. 

First of all, if a device gets lost or stolen, a person can quickly gain access to all accounts. Secondly, keep in mind that cybercriminals don’t even have to steal one’s laptop or phone. All they need is to break a password online, and they immediately get access to all your business’s sensitive information. 

To keep your data safe, ensure your employees use strong passwords and that they change them regularly. Apply the same attitude to each of your company’s account. It might not stop hackers from breaking through your online defence, but it will make their job a lot more challenging. 

Disable Bluetooth & Auto-Connect

Most phones have an option to automatically connect with wi-fi without logging in every single time. And while it’s a nice feature to have when at home, the best idea is to disable it during your travel. If you leave this feature enabled, you risk it connecting to a dangerous network, which, as we’ve already mentioned, can lead to cybercriminals stealing your data. 

Keep Operating Systems Updated

Every time you travel to another country, you should ensure that your device, whether it’s a laptop or phone, has an updated operating system. The same goes for the apps you use to conduct business or store personal and business data. If they are all up to date, they will work better and have all the recent security features. It might not seem like a lot, but it can make the difference, so make sure you keep all your and company devices always have all the updates when abroad.

Final Note

Corporate travellers might not be as common as in the past, but business trips still play a vital role in day-to-day operations. However, every time you or your employees travel abroad, you should make sure to follow some crucial cybersecurity precautions. For that, we recommend considering our tips. 

Start by finding a reliable SOC service provider and antivirus software. Then, teach your employees that they can’t use free internet networks, or if they have to, to turn on their VPN. Another thing to do is to ensure you and your workers use strong passwords and that all your company devices have operating systems up to date. 

Of course, it’s vital to keep in mind that these precautions won’t keep your company data a hundred per cent secure. It’s impossible to stay fully protected online these days. Following these steps will reduce the risk of your confidential information being stolen, and that’s something that can make a huge difference nowadays.