If you travel internationally with a laptop, tablet or smartphone, you risk loss or theft of your device as well as the data stored on it.

A malicious individual who sets out to compromise your mobile device may be interested in not only your business information but also your university username and password, which could be used to access and exploit NC State systems and information resources. While you are traveling, someone could also infect your device with malware that could compromise university systems and data when you reconnect it to the university network.

It is impossible to protect your mobile device against every form of system or information breach, whether it occurs domestically or internationally. So it is prudent to assume that if you take your mobile device with you, it will be compromised in some potentially undetectable way. (This is especially true in high-risk countries; the U.S. State Department regularly issues Alerts and Warnings about these areas.) When you travel internationally, the only truly secure choice is to leave your mobile device at home. Visit OIT’s Technology for Travel Web page for practical security advice about what to do before, during and after your trip.