How do Cyberattacks Happen When Travelling – Guide
Vacation travel has become easier over the years thanks to advances in technology. From hotel reservations and experiences, to learning about a destination firsthand and communicating with friends, technology plays an important role in our vacation travel. While these technological advances make our lives more comfortable, they can also expose us to cybersecurity risks. Laptops, smartphones and tablets are easy targets for cyberattacks during the holiday season. Users are busy and distracted and often don’t have security best practices in mind. Unfortunately, cyber criminals are always looking for ways to attack people, and they thrive on the chaos that inevitably comes with the holidays. Make an effort to ensure your personal information is secure by changing all your commonly used passwords – this includes PIN numbers and strong codes. Avoid simple phrases, personal information like your birthday, or strings of numbers, including the all-too-common “123456”. In the National Cyber Security Center’s global analysis of hacked account passwords, 23.2 million accounts used this code.
What types of cyber attacks can occur while traveling?
During a trip, a cybercriminal (hacker) can essentially launch any form of attack that he or she could in other scenarios that are not necessarily travel-related. On the other hand, there are preferred techniques that have stood the test of time and proved to be beneficial for cybercriminals. This is especially true for unsecured public WiFi hotspots in local or international travel centers such as airports, train stations, bus stations, restaurants, bars, cafes and the like. Hotels and other temporary accommodations also fall into this category. As millions of people move around the Earth every day through travel, there is ample opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit weary, jaded and especially unsuspecting travelers to obtain their financial or other sensitive information.
Some of these attack techniques are;
Spoofing (spoofed scam sites), phishing (email scams), spyware and adware (via pop-ups and downloads), as well as keyloggers (which record keyboard keystrokes) are legitimate methods of cyber criminals with which travelers can be targeted. Fortunately, most of this can be resolved with a little caution and cyber preparation.
How to Protect yourself from cyber attacks while traveling
Most public places or hubs that accommodate large numbers of travelers have weak internet security, including all the possible locations mentioned above. This means not only public Wi-Fi, but also the security of hotel computers and even charging stations. Travelers tend to book hotels, browse their bank or other accounts, and shop online as they travel, and cyber criminals know this. Furthermore, the risks involved in traveling are not just virtual, but also physical. working on a laptop or smartphone with high visibility screen puts you at risk from spies and scam groups. Add to that poor password hygiene and bad internet practices (lack of cybersecurity knowledge) and the consequences for travelers can be catastrophic. Finally, it would be advisable to consider the following combination of tips for generally significantly improved information security when traveling.
Final note
I hope you like the guide How do Cyberattacks Happen When Travelling. In case if you have any query regards this article you may ask us. Also, please share your love by sharing this article with your friends.
