Is my Smartphone at Risk When I'm Travelling?
May 06, 2022
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One of the most common and most convenient devices that technology has brought us is the smartphone. These pocket sized devices are miniature computers that can do just about anything these days.
Whether you want to use them for entertainment, work, or even just to keep up with your friends and family, smartphones have become the go-to devices for billions of people all around the world.
However smart these devices may be, they are still “devices” at the end of the day, and they are still prone to cyberattacks. If you want to keep yourself and your personal information secure, you need to make use of cybersecurity tools for your smartphone, especially if you’re travelling. Read on to find out more about why travelling poses such a threat to our devices, and why you need to get your phone’s security in top-notch shape as soon as possible.
Why is my Phone More at Risk When Travelling?
Smartphones are clever little devices, as the name might imply. We can use them for so many different purposes and we often keep some of our most important information on these devices that can fit into our pockets. Moreover, they have become ever more popular, with a massive spike in smartphone users in recent years.
However, they remain devices at the end of the day and there is always the risk of them being compromised by a cybercriminal. Just like computers, smartphones can be infected with malicious software, also known as malware for short. Malware is extremely dangerous and can range from viruses to spyware and even ransomware. All of the former are categorized generally as malware.
When we travel abroad our smartphones are even more at risk than they are at home. This is because we often need to use public WiFi hotspots. These are cheap and convenient WiFi networks that you can find at airports, hotels, and restaurants. These public hotspots are great for quickly getting your smartphone connected and catching up on the latest news or messages from friends and family. However, public WiFi hotspots have one major flaw.
Their flaw is that they are often unsecured networks, which are extremely dangerous to your devices if you’re connected to them. Cybercriminals often thrive on these unsecured networks, especially in popular areas where tourists or business travellers might be. This is because they know that most tourists will be using the WiFi since they likely aren’t able to use their mobile data, while business travellers will be inputting their financial credentials online
You should always be wary of these public WiFi hotspots as cybercriminals can do a lot of damage to your devices, which we’ll go into detail about in the next section. Make sure to read on until the end of the article to see how you can keep your devices protected.
What Can Cybercriminals do?
If a cybercriminal is able to breach your device there can be some devastating consequences. Most people have all of their important information stored on their smartphones, from personal details, login credentials, contact details of your friends, family, and colleagues, or even your social security number.
The first thing a hacker can do is steal your login credentials. From your bank accounts to email addresses and even your social media accounts, a hacker will be able to log into them and change your passwords, which means that you are locked out of your own accounts. From there they can do a ton of damage, especially with your bank accounts.
If a cybercriminal is able to get hold of your personal information they can use that to commit identity theft. Identity theft is a serious crime, and it’s becoming more and more frequent now that smartphones can store all of our details and they are so easy for hackers to breach. Your personal information can also be sold on the dark web to other cybercriminals who can do even more damage.
Hackers can also install malware on your device. Malware, such as viruses are extremely dangerous and some of them can even destroy your entire operating system, meaning your phone becomes practically useless.
Of course, the last place that you want any of this to happen is while you’re abroad in a foreign country, so it’s crucial that you ensure that your devices are as secure as they can possibly be before you head off on your journey.
How to Keep Your Smartphone Secure
Keeping your smartphone secure is extremely important, and you should never overlook this aspect, even if you’re not travelling overseas. Due to the sheer amount of important information that these pocket sized devices hold, we can’t risk them falling into the wrong hands.
The first thing you want to do is to ensure that your smartphone is always updated. Software updates are regularly sent out in order to fix any flaws that have been discovered in the system through user and developer testing. Oftentimes the developers can also send out important major updates that add new security features to your device.
Sometimes though, the standard security on your smartphone might not be enough to keep a cunning cybercriminal out of your device. You should consider investing in premium antivirus software. Antivirus software will constantly scan your device for any viruses. As soon as it detects a virus on your phone, it can take action to remove it too. Many reputable premium antivirus software companies provide a smartphone option.
If you’re travelling and need to make use of a public WiFi hotspot, a virtual private network, or VPN is an absolutely essential tool that you must have in your arsenal. A VPN is a tool that will encrypt your internet connection, making those convenient public WiFi hotspots much safer to use. While browsing the internet with an encrypted connection no one will be able to see what you are doing on your device.
Another benefit of having a VPN installed on your device is that you will be able to change your virtual location, which means that you can bypass frustrating things you might run into while travelling such as geo-blocking and internet censorship. You can do this by connecting to one of a premium VPN’s numerous secure global servers.
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