International Travel Guideline

Applies to: Faculty, staff, and students at Pittsburg State University.

Guideline:

Before you go

Review the US State Department website for travel warnings and tips about your location.  Travel advisories are not only issued for high-risk areas but for COVID restrictions.  This website is a great resource for international travel tips, guidelines, and general information.

1. Travel light. Take with you only what you need. If you can manage your trip without a laptop, tablet, and/or smartphone, leave them at home.
2. Avoid bringing devices that contain private data. 
   1. Evaluate the data you have stored on your hard drive and remove any sensitive/confidential data.
   2. It is recommended that you take a clean laptop with only the data you need for your trip.
      • Clear your browser history and cache, including saved usernames and passwords.
      • Delete any saved or favorite sites that could expose any personal information.
3. Encrypt your hard drive, USB flash drives, external hard drives and any other external storage (if allowed at your destination). These devices should remain with you at all times and should be transported in carry-on luggage.
4. Ensure smartphones and tablets are encrypted (if allowed at your destination) and protected by a PIN, passphrase, or biometric, such as a fingerprint or facial recognition. Remove all unneeded data, apps, and accounts from the device prior to travel. Register your device with a locator service such as Find My iPhone/iPad or Android Device Manager so that it can be wiped remotely if lost or stolen.
5. Change your passwords and PINs. Change your unified PSU password, and any passwords for Internet services you will access while traveling, such as Gmail or Facebook.  This includes PIN’s on tablets and smartphones.
6. Update your software, especially your anti-virus, operating system, and browser. Updates often correct security vulnerabilities. Therefore, it's important to always keep your software up-to-date, especially before traveling.  If updates are necessary while abroad, download the updates directly from the software vendor’s website.
7. Setup VPN on your laptop. Before you leave the country, install and test your VPN connection. Always connect to VPN before accessing university resources.  When you connect your devices to Wi-Fi abroad, using VPN ensures that your data is securely sent over the Internet. This is important, as most public Wi-Fi networks cannot offer this protection.
8. Backup your computer. Talk to your tech about backing up the data on your device.
9. Determine if you need adapters or converters for your devices. Make sure you have the proper plug adapter. Modern laptops have "switching" power supplies that can use both standard AC and DC current in most countries, but wall outlets outside the United States are often a different style and may require you to use an adapter.
10. Leave a copy of your passport, itinerary, and important phone numbers with family, friends, or coworkers so they can quickly and easily access the information and get it to you in the event your passport or other valuables are stolen.

 Visit the GUSVerify website for information regarding using Duo while traveling.

While you are there

1. Always connect to VPN before accessing university resources.
2. Avoid using public workstations. The security of public workstations or even a friend’s computer, especially in high-risk countries, cannot be trusted.  When you use a public workstation, anything that you enter in to the system - IDs, passwords, data - may be captured and used, so limit your activity to the devices that you bring. And never enter information such as bank account numbers, or credit cards numbers.
3. Be aware of your surroundings when logging in or inputting data into your devices. There have been many cases where an ID, password or a piece of confidential information had been compromised simply by watching the person input the information. Be discreet when entering your ID and passwords. “Shoulder surfing” and cameras pointed toward keyboards are common ways that credentials are compromised.
4. Be cautious when clicking on pop-ups. This is especially true while using untrusted hotel Internet connections. Some pop-ups are actually scams designed to trick people into installing malicious software.
5. Beware of software updates.  Entities in foreign countries have been known to push fake updates when a user connects to a local network so they can install malware and spyware.
6. Do not use USB-based public battery charging stations. “Juice jacking” attacks can install malware on your mobile device and/or copy data from your device.  Only use chargers you brought from home and know to be good.
7. Reset your Password if you think your account has been compromised. You can reset your passwords yourself on the Password Reset Page.  If you need assistance contact the Gorilla Geeks: 620-235-4600 or geeks@pittstate.edu.
8. Contact local authorities if your device is stolen. Also contact the IT Security Officer if your device is lost or stolen: ITSecurity@pittstate.edu.

When you return

1. Reset any passwords you used while traveling. When you return to the U.S., you should reset all your passwords. If passwords were compromised while you were abroad, changing them upon your return will render the stolen ones useless.
2. Scan your device for viruses and malware.