Safety and Security for the Business Professional Traveling Abroad

"Corporate espionage is an increasingly serious threat for a business traveler. The perpetrator may be a competitor, opportunist, or foreign intelligence officer. In many countries, domestic corporations collect competitive intelligence with the help and support of their government. To mitigate this risk, your organization’s critical information and technologies should not reside on any hard copy or electronic device you take unless it is absolutely necessary, and if so, then you must safeguard the physical access to the information by using encryption and keeping the material on your person at all times. Hotel safes are not adequate protection." The FBI has published a safety and security awareness brochure that you can download here.

In October 2017, I discussed Foreign Travel here in my blog. I encourage you to read that post, and if traveling for business to further consider the risks that you may face when traveling abroad.

Kevin D. Murray has published an excellent awareness paper for business travelers, "The Top Twenty Information Security Tips for Business Travelers to Closed Society Countries". You can request a free copy of this paper from Mr. Murray's Counterespionage web-site.

Stanford University's IT Department published "Recommendations for Travelers to High Risk Countries" which offers good cyber-security recommendations for travelers.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published "Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border: Protecting the Data On Your Devices".

While adversaries can and do target your electronic devices, remember that they can also target you directly.

 

Elicitation, as described in the FBI brochure, is a common techniques used to gather information from business travelers. A similar brochure about Elicitation and Recruitment is available from the Defense Security Service.

 

The Counterintelligence Awareness and Security Brief provided by CDSE is worth reviewing prior to any foreign travel, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has prepared an 8-minute YouTube video, "Your Personal Information: Protecting it from Exploitation" intended to help build security awareness. The Foreign Travel Vulnerability brochure from the Defense Security Service should also be included as part of security awareness training when preparing to travel abroad.