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Travel Guidance

If you are travelling abroad, here are some steps you should take to protect your data.

Potential Risks:

Theft of information, including proprietary research, patient data, etc. and information resources including laptops, smartphones, tablets, Flash drives, CD’s etc.
Physical damage as result of accidents
Political unrest, natural disasters, health concerns (epidemic) in host country.
Exposure to vulnerable public networks e.g. hotel network, airport, restaurant networks which has light security in-depth.
Risk to unfavorable international data protection/security regulations, e.g. the use of Encryption software.

Before you Leave:

Know your destinations IT security law and practices by researching the destinations IT Security’s reputation, alerts and US government bulletins.
Install updates to your software and operating systems to prevent exploitation. This includes ant-virus/anti-malware, operating systems and applications.
Change your password, and use different passwords for different accounts.
Backup your data to a device and store it securely – assume that all data you bring will be lost.
Sanitize your devices to clear them of documents/media that could be perceived as provocative or inflammatory by certain governments
Travel lean. Bring only those devices and data that is absolutely needed.
Download and set up device manager such as Find my iPhone/iPad/Mac or Find my Device (for Android). This will allow you to erase data remotely if a device is lost or stolen.
Ensure your computer is encrypted. UMass Chan Medical School devices should be encrypted per UMass Chan policy.
Test your VPN connection to ensure secure communication.

During Travel:

Security at the destination country will mainly rest on the Users security awareness and commitment to protect data and IT resources. The following are some safeguards to ensure information security:

Power off your device. At a minimum, disable WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities when not in use.
Do not enter your credentials into public computers, e.g. internet cafes, hotels business center work stations, airport workstations. If you do, quickly change your credentials.
Do not plug in untrusted accessories such as flash drives, CD’s, SD cards etc.
Do not charge your device using a public kiosk
Connect to HTTPS websites only
Use VPN Software to establish a secure network connection.
Do not leave devices unattended
Clear internet browsing sessions after each use
Immediately report a stolen or lost phone or computer to Information Security.
Report incidents if you believe that your device or confidential information may have been compromised. https://umassmed.edu/it/security/security-strategy/report-a-problem/

Upon Return:

Change your password
Run antivirus software scan

For additional information, please visit the International Support Services Page.

External resources:

U.S. Office of Counterintelligence advice on overseas travel with personal devices
U.S. State Department guidelines for protecting business information overseas
Wellabroad.com/travel-warning-feeds/

How to install updates:

1. On your Taskbar, click the arrow that expands your hidden applications.

2. Navigate this selection and find your security applications i.e. McAfee, Windows Defender. (You may have to perform a search in the Search Bar on the Taskbar to discover certain security applications. Use key words like "anti-virus" or "anti-malware")

3. Explore these applications and you will easily find options to update any software that might be out of date.

How to check if your computer is encrypted:

Navigate to your Taskbar.
Click the arrow that expands and displays all hidden icons.
Locate the security software installed on your computer, in this case it is McAfee.
Right click the application icon and hover your mouse over where it says "Quick Settings", then proceed to click "Show Drive Encryption Status". A window will then pop up and display the status of your security system.
Confirm your computer is encrypted with the IT Helpdesk. (Be aware that some countries restrict encrypted devices.)

Test your VPN connection

1. Navigate to your task bar. Expand hidden applications.

2. Locate the application named "Pulse Secure". Right click it and open it.

3. A panel will pop up and it will show if you're connected or disconnected.

You can also edit your connection here as well. To do so, follow the these steps:

1. With the Pulse Secure application panel open, click the pencil icon. A separate panel will open for you to input information.

2. The first text box should be inaccessible and read "Policy Secure (UAC) or Connect Secure (VPN)".

3. In the second text box called "Name", type "UMMS" without quotations.

4. Under Server URL, type the following: remote.umassmed.edu

5. Click Save.

How to Run an anti-virus scan:

Go to your Taskbar, expand the hidden icons and locate McAfee.
Right click the application icon, then hover your mouse over "Manage Features"
Under this category there should be the option "VirusScan Enterprise". Click it.

Menu with manage features selected, VirusScan Enterprise selected in sub menu

4. You may be prompted with a message about making changes to your PC. Click "Yes" to proceed.

5. The VirusScan console window will then appear. Under the list of choices, right click "Full Scan" and then click Start. The virus scan will then begin. This process can take several minutes.

Report any incidents or suspected incidents to Information Security

Travel Guidance

Before you Leave:

Need Immediate Help?