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Contents:
The NSA guidance is designed to help the National Security System (NSS), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) teleworkers.
The information sheet published by the NSA can help with the noticing of any potential threats and vulnerable public connections, and also to minimize risks in order to better secure wireless devices and data.
Cyber actors can compromise devices over Bluetooth, public Wi-Fi, and Near-Field Communications (NFC), a short-range wireless technology. This puts personal and organizational data, credentials, and devices at risk.
If users must connect to public Wi-Fi, they should take necessary precautions, such as using a personal or corporate-provided virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt the traffic.
Any hijacked wireless devices, like laptops, tablets, mobile can lead to the compromise of personal and corporate data, therefore in order to properly mitigate these risks, NSA recommends avoiding public Wi-Fi networks.
These networks could be dangerous as they expose traffic data to theft or manipulation.
Another recommendation made by the NSA is to disable Bluetooth and NFC radios while in public and not in use in order to avoid exposing sensitive information that can be used to hack the device.
Users should consider additional security measures, including limiting/disabling device location features, using strong device passwords, and only using trusted device accessories, such as original charging cords.
Before conducting business remotely or in public settings users should obtain explicit authorization from their organization to do so.
CISA also offered some advice earlier this year on how to secure internet-enabled devices when traveling whilst urging users to take all the precautions to ensure their physical security and also to access the internet only over trusted connections to lower the risk of identity theft.
Dora is a digital marketing specialist within Heimdal™ Security. She is a content creator at heart - always curious about technology and passionate about finding out everything there is to know about cybersecurity.
