Staying Secure Away From the Office: Travel, Remote Work and Time Off

Some of the most damaging incidents we see don't happen at the office at all. They happen on a hotel's Wi-Fi, through a laptop left in a rental car, or back at the office while the person who would have noticed something odd is on vacation. Whether it's a business trip, a week up north or working from the kitchen table, a few habits keep time away from turning into a problem.

Before you leave

• Install pending updates on your laptop and phone, and restart them.
• Make sure multi-factor sign-in is on for email and anything else you'll use on the road.
• Turn on Find My (iPhone and Mac) or Find My Device (Android and Windows), and know how to use it.
• Take only the devices you need. A laptop that stays home can't be lost.
• Confirm your work files are saved to OneDrive or another backed-up location, not only on the laptop.

I follow this checklist myself every time I travel. Before a trip, give us a heads-up and we'll make sure your devices are ready.

Your out-of-office reply

An auto-reply tells every sender, including scammers, that you're away. Keep it short: when you're back and who to contact for urgent issues, by role, not by name. Don't list who handles payments, and don't include your personal cell number.

On the road

• Use your phone's hotspot instead of hotel, airport or coffee-shop Wi-Fi when you're doing anything sensitive. If you must use public Wi-Fi, use the VPN your company provides.
• Lock your screen whenever you step away, and never leave a laptop visible in a car.
• Charge from your own charger and a wall outlet, not unknown USB cables or ports.
• Be wary of "urgent" messages while you travel. Scammers know you're distracted and checking email on a small screen.

If a device is lost or stolen

• Call your IT provider right away so they can lock the device and sign it out of company accounts.
• Change your email password from another device.
• Use Find My to locate, lock or erase it.
• Report the theft to local police if it was stolen. Your insurer may need the report.

Back at the office while you're away

This is the part people forget. While the owner or the bookkeeper is away, scammers impersonate them, or impersonate a vendor to whoever is covering:

• Agree before you leave that no payment details change while you're gone, no matter who asks.
• Make sure the person covering knows the verify-by-phone rule and has the numbers they need.
• Tell your IT provider who's away and who's covering, so unusual sign-ins stand out.

Working from home

• Keep the home router updated, and change its default admin password.
• Use a work computer for work. Family members shouldn't use it, and personal devices shouldn't store company files.
• Lock the screen when you step away, even at home.

Around the holidays

The holidays combine time off, travel and the busiest scam season of the year. Decide in advance who is on call, keep auto-replies short, and remind the team that the rush is when "urgent" requests deserve the most suspicion.