Top tips for staying cyber secure while you're on holiday

Some of us may be looking forward to taking some time off over the next few months. Did you know on Instagram alone there are over half a million posts using the hashtag #outofoffice and a whopping 179 million #holiday hashtags? Whilst we get excited about having a break, there are some simple things you can do to make your break more secure both at work and at home.

For work, we may love that feeling of switching on your out-of-office to let colleagues know you’re on holiday, but did you know email is the number one route for social engineering attacks? An automatic reply message not only sends the information to your work contacts, but it also bounces back to criminals who send phishing emails.

Here are 3 simple tips to use:

When drafting an out-of-office message, consider what people truly need to know about an absence.

For example, instead of this reply:

…consider this reply:

Both replies provide enough information for informed senders. Uninformed senders - including those emailing unsolicited or malicious requests - will receive minimal information to act on.

Take advantage of this option whenever possible. You can feel more confident about providing the name of an internal contact in replies that will go to people within the organisation. 

With external replies, tip 1 should guide your actions: reveal as few details as possible. 

Don’t rely on out-of-office responses to give instructions to colleagues you deal with the most. This is particularly important if you're part of activities such as:

• finance/invoice approvals
• exchanges involving confidential data or intellectual property

Before you leave the office, identify the people who are most likely to contact you with time-sensitive needs while you’re away. 

At home, here’s what to avoid posting on social media this summer:

Out-of-office

There have been examples of people sharing a photo of their out-of-office reply on social media. This shares the exact days of your annual leave and who to contact, putting both your home and work at increased risk.

Stories

Sharing any holiday highlights once you’re home avoids giving the game away that you’re away, and your property is empty.

Holiday countdown

The countdown feature on a phone should be kept for personal use only, posting this  shares the exact dates and duration of a holiday.

Finally, enjoy your time off.