Travelling has never been easier or more digital. Today, a smartphone is all you need to book flights, check into your hotel, make payments, navigate with maps, or even plan your itinerary using artificial intelligence.

While this level of connectivity makes travelling more convenient, it also increases your exposure to cybersecurity risks. Taking a few simple precautions before and during your holiday can help protect your devices, personal data and digital identity.

To enjoy your holiday with greater peace of mind, follow these 10 recommendations from Devoteam Cyber Trust to keep your devices, data and digital identity secure.

Have a great trip and enjoy your holiday!

1. Keep Your Devices Safe in Public Places

Keep your smartphone, laptop and tablet with you at all times or stored in a secure location. In airports, hotels, cafés and on public transport, never leave your devices unattended. Where possible, use a privacy screen filter on your laptop to prevent others from viewing your screen.

2. Avoid Unsecured Public Wi-Fi Networks

Free public Wi-Fi remains one of the biggest cybersecurity risks while travelling. Disable automatic connections to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop or similar services, enabling them only when required. Whenever possible, use your mobile data, connect via a trusted VPN, or use your phone as a personal hotspot.

3. Update All Your Devices Before You Travel

Before setting off, check that all your devices are fully up to date. Ensure your operating system is running the latest version, your applications are updated, and your antivirus software is active and current. Software updates regularly fix security vulnerabilities that cybercriminals actively exploit.

4. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Enable multi-factor authentication on your most important accounts, including your email, online banking, travel bookings, social media accounts and digital wallets. Even if your password is compromised, MFA makes it significantly more difficult for someone to gain unauthorised access.

5. Be Cautious When Scanning QR Codes

QR codes are now widely used in restaurants, airports, hotels and car parks. However, they can be replaced with fraudulent versions that redirect users to malicious websites. Before opening any link, always check that the web address displayed is legitimate.

6. Disable Automatic Connections

Turn off automatic connections to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirDrop and similar services, as well as automatic pairing with unknown devices. Enable these features only when needed and only when connecting to trusted and legitimate services.

7. Use Only Official Apps and Trusted Platforms

Make bookings only through reputable travel platforms or directly via the official websites of airlines and hotels. Be wary of messages requesting additional payments, unexpected booking changes, or payment requests received through WhatsApp or SMS.

8. Enable Device Location and Remote Locking

Before travelling, ensure that services such as Find My iPhone, Find My Device (Android) or your laptop's location tracking are enabled. If your device is lost or stolen, you will be able to locate it, lock it remotely or erase your data.

9. Protect Your Digital Payments

Good security practices include using virtual payment cards for online purchases, enabling payment notifications, immediately blocking lost or stolen cards, and avoiding storing photographs of your bank cards on your phone. Also, check whether your most important accounts rely solely on SMS verification codes and consider stronger authentication methods where available.

10. Share Your Holiday on Social Media After You Return

Posting holiday photos in real time can reveal more than you realise — including that your home is unoccupied and your current location. In addition, photos and videos shared online can be exploited in social engineering attacks or used to create convincing AI-generated fake content.

Before You Travel, Complete This Final Checklist

• All your devices are fully updated.
• Multi-factor authentication is enabled.
• You have backed up your important files.
• Device location services are switched on.
• You have a plan for remotely locking or wiping your devices if they are lost or stolen.

Cybersecurity should be part of every travel checklist. A few simple precautions can help ensure that a relaxing holiday does not turn into a security incident affecting your data, your accounts or your digital identity.

Stay up to date with the latest guidance from Devoteam Cyber Trust and explore our cybersecurity newsletters here: https://www.integrity.pt/newsletters.html