Business travel means leaving your trusted network, mixing personal and professional devices, and spending time on public Wi-Fi. This checklist splits into three phases: before you leave, during the trip, after you are back.
Before you leave
Back up everything — to cloud and to a local encrypted disk. Assume a lost device.
Update your OS and apps — the day before, not on hotel Wi-Fi.
Enable full-disk encryption — BitLocker, FileVault. A stolen laptop becomes a paperweight.
Configure a corporate VPN — test it before you leave, not at the airport.
Review what you carry — leave behind any data you do not strictly need, especially for high-risk destinations.
Pack a travel router or hotspot plan — 4G/5G beats any hotel network.
During the trip
Prefer your own hotspot — avoid hotel, café and airport Wi-Fi whenever possible.
Use your VPN for anything sensitive — banking, admin panels, client data.
Never leave devices unattended — hotel safes can be opened by staff; the lobby even more so.
Disable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi auto-join — especially at airports and conferences.
Use a privacy screen — shoulder surfing is the oldest exploit in the world.
No public USB charging — carry your own charger or a USB data blocker.
When you are back
Run a full scan on any device used abroad.
Rotate any credential you typed on a portal you did not fully trust.
Check your accounts for unusual logins and sign out of lingering sessions.
Report anything suspicious to your IT team — even minor.