Data Privacy Is a Bigger Issue Than Ever for Business Travelers
Photo Credit: A traveler uses a laptop at the airport in Brussels. Data privacy has become a bigger concern in recent years as border searches of electronics increased in the U.S and authorities forced some travelers to stow laptops in cargo during flights. Flickr / Jean-Etienne Poirrier
Skift Take
With laws in flux and hackers prowling for access, companies are trying to help corporate travelers protect valuable business data, but the efforts are piecemeal and inconsistent. Attempts to require loaner devices or limit access to information risk making international travel less productive.
A year ago, business travelers were panicked about a U.S. and UK ban on laptops and tablets on flights departing certain Middle Eastern and North African countries. While that ban was eventually withdrawn, the experience has prompted urgent conversations within companies about how to protect travelers’ devices and data.
High-profile data breaches and reports of electronic devices being searched at border crossings are motivating companies to ask travelers to be more careful about limiting the valuable information that could be exposed.
In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan testified that the agency searched more than 30,000 electronic devices in fiscal 2017, up from about 5,000 in fiscal 2012. McAleenan noted the current figure represents “less than one-hundredth of one percent of travelers” arriving in the U.S., but the increase has travel managers worried.
Privacy concerns also could extend to social media. The U.S. Travel Associat
