Holiday travel should be relaxing — not a cybersecurity nightmare waiting to happen. Whether you’re heading to Gatlinburg for a long weekend, flying out of McGhee Tyson, or visiting family out of state, it’s easy to forget that every device you carry can become a target.
Cybercriminals love this time of year. Travelers are distracted, using unfamiliar networks, and connecting to devices they don’t fully trust. And if you run a business, the stakes are even higher — a compromised device can expose your company data, logins, banking access, and private client information.
Here are the smart, practical tech safety tips that East Tennessee business owners (and their families) should follow every holiday season.
- Be Careful with Public Wi-Fi — It’s Not as Safe as It Looks
Airports, hotels, coffee shops, and cabins in the Smokies all offer “free Wi-Fi.” But open networks make it easy for hackers to intercept passwords, emails, and financial logins.
Safe Alternatives:
- Use your cell phone as a secure hotspot
- Use a VPN for any business-related browsing
- Avoid logging into banking, payroll, or sensitive accounts on public Wi-Fi
If your business uses Microsoft 365 or cloud apps, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to protect all logins.
- Beware of Holiday Scams and Fake Travel Emails
It’s the season of phishing — fake shipping notices, bogus hotel confirmations, fraudulent gift card emails, and “urgent travel updates.”
If you manage employees, make sure they know:
- Never click unexpected attachments
- Verify sender email addresses
- Be suspicious of “urgent” messages requesting money or personal information
Cybercriminals use holiday stress to their advantage.
- Keep Devices Locked Down — Especially When Traveling With Family
Kids borrowing your laptop or tablet can accidentally:
- Install malicious apps
- Click harmful pop-ups
- Access your business accounts
Protect your devices with:
- Screen lock & strong passcode
- MFA on every business login
- Separate user profiles for kids
You wouldn’t hand out your office keys — treat your devices the same way.
- Charging Safety: Avoid Public Charging Stations
Public charging ports — at airports or rest stops — can be used for “juice jacking,” a tactic where attackers load malware through the port.
Use:
- A personal wall charger
- A portable power bank
- USB “data-blocking” cable if you must use public ports
- Rental Cars Store More Data Than You Realize
Most drivers don’t know this: when you sync your phone to a rental car, it often stores:
- Call history
- Contacts
- GPS data
- Text message previews
Before returning any rental vehicle:
- Open settings
- Select “Clear personal data” or “Forget device”
- Delete Bluetooth pairings
If multiple employees travel, make this part of your company travel policy.
- Stay Prepared With Cloud Backups and Remote Wipe
The holidays come with travel chaos — lost bags, stolen devices, and misplaced phones.
Make sure your business devices have:
- Automatic cloud backups
- Remote wipe capability
- Device tracking enabled
One lost laptop should not become a business disaster.
Final Thoughts
Holiday travel brings joy — but also cyber risks. With a few simple steps, you can protect your family, your devices, and your business from threats that spike this time of year.
If you want help securing your devices or building a safe-travel tech policy for your team, we can prepare your systems before the holiday rush.
👉 Schedule your Holiday Cyber Safety Checkup today and keep your business safe — wherever the season takes you.
