My husband and I recently took a trip to the Florida Keys to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.  Although we hold a deep-rooted motivation to perform well and both are busy at work, we were looking forward to mental break of unplugging and enjoying the physical and mental vacation.  My husband even noted he was thankful his company disallowed traveling with his work  laptop and required that employees stay offline for 7 days to stop from logging in to “just check in”.

This made us take notice of the number of laptops at the airport, restaurants, and even poolside.  At the airport, one woman sat at the bar conducting a virtual meeting with a client.

My first thought was regarding security.  How safe is it to connect?  What actions help mitigate the risks of connecting at public places.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, public Wi-Fi networks are not as dangerous as they used to me, if you know what you are looking for.  The FTC reports that in the past, most websites did not encrypt data, whereas they do today.  To check whether the website you need to access uses encryption, look for the lock symbol or https in the address bar.

Another important action is to verify the Wi-Fi network you connect to.  Often, bad actors will create an “Evil Twin.”  An Evil Twin is a malicious Wi-Fi network named similarly to the legitimate hotel, restaurant, or airport network tricking users to connect to a network in which the bad actors can spy on your online activity and record your information, such as login credentials.  Always verify the name of network with the establishment providing the Wi-Fi network (hotel, restaurant, airport terminal, etc.) and try to avoid using networks that don’t use a password to connect.

Another suggestion to help reduce the risk of a data breach is to use your own hotspot through your mobile phone.  You can personalize the hotspot name and set a strong password that is easily recognized and accessible to you.

Using a VPN can also help.  The AmericanBar.org describes a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, as a network that has a secure computer (server) that you can connect your computer/phone/tablet to remotely and use its internet connection to surf the internet.

Disable auto Wi-Fi connections on your devices when traveling and ensure the operating systems and anti-virus software on your devices are updated before traveling.  Also, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) features to access email and websites containing important or sensitive information.

Lastly, avoid accessing sensitive information such as your banking, accounting and email accounts when using a public Wi-Fi network whenever possible.  If you are traveling for vacation, please consider leaving your access devices behind. Use the time to recharge, re-motivate, and relax!

Rachel Guerrero
VP Treasury Management Sales