Security
Precautions when Traveling with Laptops
The
FBI issued the following warning for malware installed on travelers’ laptops
through software updates on hotel internet connections:
“Recently,
there have been instances of travelers’ laptops being infected with malicious
software while using hotel Internet connections. In these instances, the
traveler was attempting to setup the hotel room Internet connection and was
presented with a pop-up window notifying the user to update a widely-used
software product. If the user clicked to accept and install the update,
malicious software was installed on the laptop. The pop-up window
appeared to be offering a routine update to a legitimate software product for
which updates are frequently available. The FBI recommends that all
government, private industry, and academic personnel who travel abroad take
extra caution before updating software products on their hotel Internet
connection. Checking the author or digital certificate of any prompted
update to see if it corresponds to the software vendor may reveal an attempted
attack. The FBI also recommends that travelers perform software updates
on laptops immediately before traveling, and that they download software
updates directly from the software vendor’s Web site if updates are necessary
while abroad.”
Prohibitions
on Usage of Government-Issued Laptops:
·
Downloading Unapproved
Software: All Department laptops must be encrypted with approved
Department software, and only ITCCB or CA_CCB approved software can be
installed on Department laptops.
·
Downloading
Internet Software: Internet Software must be installed by CA System
Administrators from authorized sites. You may not download internet
software to your government laptop without prior approval from the system
administrators.
Additional Security Tips:
·
Read Hotel Wi-Fi Directions and
avoid connecting to fake hotspots by verifying which network actually belongs
to the hotel.
·
Never click on a pop-up window. Reputable sites should
not require a pop-up to work or function.
·
Make sure software updates and security patches are applied on a
regular basis and especially prior to a long trip.
·
Make sure Anti-Virus definitions are kept updated.
