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Security Precautions to Take While Traveling

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When we think about digital and device security, we mostly think about the fixed locations where people spend most of their time—home, school, and work. But what about when you’re traveling? Some security concerns remain the same when you’re on the road, but new ones crop up.

We’ll assume that you already keep your devices up to date, use FileVault on Macs, have at least a six-digit iOS passcode, have strong password habits, and use multi-factor authentication wherever possible. Other options are more specific to travel.

As with our more general article about increasing security last month, we’ve divided our list of suggestions into two parts: things that everyone should do and measures that only people who worry about being specifically targeted should employ.

Sensible Travel Security Precautions for Everyone

These suggestions are appropriate for everyone who travels, and they’re aimed primarily at avoiding relatively common problems: loss, theft, data loss, and generalized snooping:

  • Focus on physical security: As a tourist, you may be targeted by thieves, so it’s important to keep your iPhone in a secure pocket whenever you’re not using it. Carry an iPad or laptop in a bag that can’t be snatched, or leave them locked or at least concealed in your hotel room.
  • Enable Find My for all your devices: You should have already done this, but if not, enable Find My to improve your chances of finding a device you lose or accidentally leave behind. It might help if the device is stolen, but local police cooperation for recovering stolen items can vary widely. Don’t attempt to recover a stolen device yourself.
  • Put AirTags in your luggage and laptop bags: AirTags can help you track down lost luggage—you can now share their locations with airlines—and prevent you from accidentally leaving bags behind. An AirTag may also help with locating a stolen item, but always work with local law enforcement.
  • Enable biometric authentication and Stolen Device Protection: Using Face ID or Touch ID wherever possible and having Stolen Device Protection enabled on your iPhone in Settings > Face/Touch ID & Passcode is even more important when traveling.
  • Use a VPN or iCloud Private Relay: Because you may be using Wi-Fi networks whose security you know nothing about, it’s best to use a VPN like Mullvad VPN, NordVPN, or ProtonVPN to encrypt all your traffic. At a minimum, use iCloud Private Relay, which requires an iCloud+ subscription and won’t encrypt traffic from most non-Apple apps.
  • Use iCloud Photos or another backup option: To ensure you don’t lose precious vacation photos, use iCloud Photos so all your photos are uploaded to the cloud whenever you have access. This will almost certainly require an iCloud+ subscription for sufficient storage space. If Wi-Fi and cellular are too slow or unavailable, consider an external SSD to which you can manually export photos and videos for backup. To speed up the process, you could create a shortcut that automatically copies all photos taken that day.
  • Use iCloud Backup: It’s best to use iCloud Backup to back up your entire iPhone every night. That way, if your iPhone is lost or destroyed, you may be able to buy a replacement and restore from backup in relatively little time. You will probably need an iCloud+ subscription to have enough backup space.
  • Practice dealing with a lost or stolen device: If the worst happens and you lose one of your devices while traveling, you need to know what to do. Immediately go to Find My on another device or iCloud.com and mark the device as lost. If there’s a chance of getting it back, stop there. However, if you believe the device was stolen, your data is at risk, and tracking it is no longer useful, use Erase This Device in Find My to wipe it. Activation Lock will remain enabled to prevent anyone from reusing the device.

Increasing Travel Security for People Who May Be Targeted

Not all travel is fondue and gamelans. If you’re a journalist, activist, government employee, or corporate executive with access to sensitive data, you could be a target while traveling. This is particularly true if you are headed to countries like China, Russia, or others with authoritarian governments and powerful intelligence agencies. Along with the suggestions above, we recommend:

  • Be aware of local laws and government practices: It’s important to read up on regional laws regarding data access and potential government capabilities at your destination. Knowing what to expect can help you reduce your risks and take appropriate precautions.
  • Use caution with cellular access: Even if your carrier allows roaming, consider using a dedicated eSIM for international travel, separate from your personal one. That way, you can use local cellular networks without revealing your home number. Be aware that your traffic may be monitored.
  • Enable Lockdown Mode: If you’re concerned about your iPhone or iPad being targeted by local law enforcement or government intelligence agencies, turn on Lockdown Mode in Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode. To increase security, it blocks most attachment types in Messages, complex Web technologies, incoming FaceTime calls from unknown callers, non-secure Wi-Fi network connections, and incoming invitations to Apple services. Plus, it excludes location information from shared photos, requires approval to connect accessories, and more.
  • Reduce and protect your use of cloud services: While using a VPN is essential, you should still avoid using cloud services much if government entities might have access to stored files. If you need to upload files, encrypt them first using the free and open-source Cryptomator.
  • Know how to disable Face ID and Touch ID: If you find yourself in a situation where you believe you may be compelled to unlock your iPhone or iPad with your face or fingerprint, press and hold the side or top button and either volume button to display the power off slider. This temporarily disables biometric authentication, requiring your passcode for the next unlock.
  • Use dedicated travel devices and accounts: If you’re traveling to a potentially hostile part of the world, we strongly recommend carrying only devices—preferably iPhones or iPads, which are more secure than Macs—configured to contain none of your personal data or regular accounts. Keep them with you at all times, assume they could be confiscated, and be aware you might be compelled to share passcodes or other account information. Create a separate Apple Account for such devices.

Best of luck in your travels! With just a little preparation, you can reduce the chances that something bad will happen during a vacation. If you’re traveling on business to somewhere more concerning, putting in additional effort could prevent truly problematic things from happening.

(Featured image by iStock.com/metamorworks)

Social Media: Security at home is one thing, but what about when you’re on the road? Many of the same precautions apply, but depending on your level of concern and where you’re going, additional techniques can help keep you and your data safe.

When Purchasing a Fireproof Safe, Pay Attention to the Details

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The devastating losses caused by the Los Angeles wildfires have underscored the need to protect data from catastrophic events. A traditional offsite backup—periodically moving a hard drive to another location—might not have sufficed in areas affected by wildfires, where many structures were destroyed. An online backup using a service like Backblaze or CrashPlan is often a better solution, although it can become costly for multiple Macs, and some individuals and organizations are uncomfortable storing their data online, even with encryption.

What about a safe? Would storing one or more backup drives in a safe provide adequate protection? Possibly, but the details are critical. Some safes are designed solely to guard against theft, focusing on preventing thieves from opening the door. However, paper ignites at 451ºF (it chars around 387ºF), and most house fires reach temperatures between 800ºF and 1200ºF, so you may think that all you need to do is look for a “fireproof” safe. That’s a good start, but paper is actually much more resilient than magnetic and optical media.

Fireproof safes come with ratings that indicate the internal temperature they can maintain, with the most common being:

  • Class 350: Safes maintain an internal temperature of 350ºF, suitable only for paper.
  • Class 150: Safes keep the interior below 150ºF, which should protect magnetic media.
  • Class 125: Safes maintain temperatures under 125ºF, appropriate for optical media.

It is also important to determine how long the safe can maintain that temperature. Generally speaking, a fireproof safe is rated for 1 or 2 hours, indicating it can maintain the specified internal temperature for at least that duration. Time ratings represent minimums, not maximums, so the actual protection time may be longer.

In most cases, the protection time is likely to be longer. That’s because safes are tested in furnaces at temperatures that can be two to three times hotter than the average house fire. For example, Underwriters Laboratory (one of several independent testing labs) conducts tests at 1700ºF or 1850ºF. Additionally, while a house fire may burn for several hours, the average fire will consume everything near the safe within 20 minutes and then move on.

Wildfires are a different story. In extreme conditions, wildfire temperatures can range from 1500ºF to 2200ºF, approaching or exceeding the testing conditions. Wildfires also last longer, so a safe in a destroyed building may remain in embers for hours or even days before it can be recovered.

While temperature over time is the main factor to consider when researching a fireproof safe, also look for two other variables being mentioned as well:

  • Water resistance: Where there’s fire, there’s usually water. Thousands of gallons of water, some of which will undoubtedly affect the safe. Not all fireproof safes are waterproof, so verify whether a specific safe can withstand being doused by firefighters.
  • Impact protection: If the floor collapses, a safe on an upper story could fall a considerable distance. If you are considering such a location, ensure the safe can withstand the impact. To simulate realistic fire conditions, the test may involve withstanding a 30-foot drop onto a concrete floor, followed by reheating.

Finally, remember that if your safe is in a fire, the heat will cause its insulation to swell up, rendering the lock useless, regardless of its type. Typically, you will need to hire a locksmith to access the safe using instructions from the manufacturer.

If you’re going to trust your data to a fireproof safe, do your research to ensure that whatever you buy will meet your needs for fire, water, and impact protection. It won’t be cheap—depending on the size and other factors, a good fireproof safe can cost many hundreds or even thousands of dollars. However, this is one area where you definitely shouldn’t cut corners.

(Featured image based on originals by iStock.com/phive2015 and Hanna Plonsak)

Social Media: If the wildfires in Los Angeles have you considering a fireproof safe to safeguard backups and important documents, make sure to research temperature ratings over time and be mindful of water and impact resistance.