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Technology Recommendations for Travelers to High-Risk Countries

Trinity faculty and staff traveling to high-risk countries should follow these guidelines to keep information on their devices safe from cyberattacks.

What are high-risk countries?

Here is a list of high-risk countries that are the subject of Travel Warnings by the U.S. Department of State and countries identified as high risk by other U.S. Government sources such as the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

Before you go

  • Forward your voicemail to email. This saves you from having to dial into your voicemail account, potentially revealing your voicemail passcode.
  • Ensure that the devices you are traveling with are compliant with the Trinity Security Standards for Desktops, Laptops, Mobile, and Other Endpoint Devices.
  • Work with your IT support staff to secure college-owned devices
  • Make sure that any personally owned devices are secure
  • Review your MFA two-step verification options
  • Create a backup of your devices before travel

While you’re traveling

  • Do not plug your phone into USB charger kiosks. A hostile computer may be on the other end of that innocent-looking wire.
  • Be aware of your surroundings. Watch for those looking over your shoulder or potential thieves.
  • Do not leave your devices unattended. Even hotel safes are not secure.
  • Use the Trinity VPN if accessing college resources outside of campus.
  • Review your MFA two-step verification options.
  • Contact your department or the Trinity Help Desk immediately if your multifactor authentication options are compromised and need to be reset.

When you return

  • Reset your Trinity password.
  • If you checked your voicemail while traveling, change your voicemail passcode (If applicable.)
  • If you brought your computer, save any documents you created while traveling to an external drive and restore them from your pre-departure backup.

Traveling with computers

Best: Travel light

  • We strongly recommend leaving your current devices here and traveling with a Trinity loaner device. Loaner devices are set up specifically for your use and wiped back to factory settings upon your return. Contact the Help Desk to see if loaners are available.

Good: Travel with less data

  • Another option is to take a new or freshly rebuilt machine and only take the data you’ll need for the trip.
    • Whenever possible, do not travel with a USB device or other removable media storage. These are easily lost and easily corrupted. If you must travel with a USB device, ensure it’s encrypted.
    • Remove unnecessary data, such as emails you have downloaded before you travel.

Minimum: Travel encrypted

  • If you must take your laptop or tablet, there are additional steps you should take before you go:
    • Make sure your software and operating system are up to date, and install anti-virus and firewall software.
    • Make sure your device is fully backed up and encrypted.
    • Remove any documents containing Level 3 or 4 Data.
    • When you return, save the documents you created while traveling to another device, thoroughly wipe the device, and restore it from the backup made before your travel.

Traveling with mobile phones

Best: Go without

  • The first thing to consider is whether you really need a mobile phone. Are you going to make calls? Can you get by with a Wi-Fi-only device? Can you get by without a phone for a short trip?

Good: Get it there

  • Purchase a basic phone at your destination. You can also take an unlocked phone and purchase a local SIM card.

Minimum: Have a plan

  • If you must use your own phone:
    • Back it up before you leave.
    • Enroll it in an international rate plan to avoid incurring excessive roaming charges.
    • Save/backup your data before departure and restore your backup when you return.
    • Ensure your apps and operating system are up to date, turn on multifactor authentication verification for all accounts, and use security measures to lock your devices.

Planning ahead protects your privacy and reduces the risk to your personal information and the college’s information.

China: a special travel situation

What to expect while you’re traveling

  • Travelers to the People’s Republic of China have experienced a range of issues:
    • Access to services that we take for granted, like Gmail and other Google apps, Wikipedia, and Yahoo Web Mail, are often blocked altogether or filtered.
    • Skype connections may be monitored by the government.
    • Those using VPNs reported that they are often cut off for hours at a time.
    • Hotel staff and government officials can access hotel room safes, so don’t expect that a computer or mobile device left in a hotel safe will be secure.

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