---
title: "Teams on the move: securing laptops, phones and public Wi-Fi"
description: "Managed cybersecurity for travelling teams: encryption, central management, MFA and VPN before leaving, and what to do if a laptop is lost. No obligation."
language: en
url: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-cybersecurity-travelling-teams/
source: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-cybersecurity-travelling-teams/
publisher: DataRoad IT (DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting), Portugal
---

> Managed cybersecurity for travelling teams: encryption, central management, MFA and VPN before leaving, and what to do if a laptop is lost. No obligation.

# Teams on the move: securing laptops, phones and public Wi-Fi

At a glance For decision-makers short on time.

- 01 With encryption and central management, a lost laptop is an expense, not a data breach.
- 02 Before travelling: BitLocker or FileVault, MFA, a tested VPN and files in the company cloud.
- 03 Away from the office, a mobile hotspot is often the safest connection.
- 04 After a loss: call support, wipe remotely, revoke sessions and report it to the authorities.

### In this article

A company laptop lost at an airport can be nothing more than a device to replace, or a data breach that must be notified. The difference is decided before the trip: an encrypted disk, the device enrolled in central management, MFA on the accounts and a connection the company controls, whether mobile hotspot or VPN. With these four points closed, travelling with work equipment stops being a business risk.

## What is really the biggest risk when the team travels?

It is not the hotel Wi-Fi. It is a lost or stolen device without encryption and an email account without a second factor. Away from the office there is no firewall, no known network and no physical control over the devices; laptops and phones pass through taxis, departure lounges, hotel rooms and X-ray machines.

Then there is attention. On a business trip or on holiday, people read messages in a hurry, between a check-in and a queue. According to CNCS data, around half of the 3,864 incidents recorded by CERT.PT in 2025 exploited failures linked to human behaviour, and phishing, by email, SMS or social media, was the dominant method.

## What should be checked before leaving?

Ten minutes per device is enough. This is the checklist we apply to the fleets we manage:

- **Encryption switched on** BitLocker on Windows or FileVault on Mac, with the recovery key held by the company. Even if the disk is removed, the data remains unreadable.
- **Central management** The device must be enrolled in the company's management platform so that it can be located, locked or wiped remotely.
- **Updates applied** Operating system, browser and antivirus patched before the device leaves the protected network.
- **MFA** On email and critical applications, so that a password captured along the way does not open the door.
- **VPN tested** Installed and tried out at the office. Finding the fault at the hotel is too late.
- **Files in the company cloud** Nothing important stored only on the laptop desktop.
- **Automatic screen lock** A few minutes of inactivity is enough; a laptop left open on a café terrace is unprotected.
- **Support contact on the phone** Whoever loses a device must know whom to call in the first minute.

**For decision-makers:** encrypting the disk is like locking the laptop's contents in a safe that only opens with the user's password. Anyone who steals the device and connects the disk to another computer sees only meaningless data. BitLocker and FileVault are already part of the operating system; they simply need to be switched on and the key stored somewhere safe.

## Which connection should be used away from the office?

### Public networks: safer than ten years ago, but not yours

Most websites and services now encrypt the connection, that is the padlock in the address bar. The FTC, the US consumer protection agency, acknowledges that this has reduced the risk of public networks, but stresses that encryption does not protect against a fake site: the data arrives safely in the fraudster's hands. Three concrete threats remain:

- **Decoy networks** Access points named after the hotel or airport, set up to capture connections.
- **Abusive captive portals** Pages that ask for personal data, social media credentials or the installation of a “certificate”.
- **Exposed shares** Laptop folders and printers visible to other users on the same network.

In practice: confirm the exact network name at reception, refuse any installation requested to grant access and switch on the company VPN immediately. The current role of the VPN is explained in [why a VPN on its own is no longer enough](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/secure-remote-access-vpn-managed-firewall/).

### Mobile hotspot: often the safest choice

Connecting the laptop to the phone removes the third-party network altogether. In the European Union, and also in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, EU roaming rules put calls, SMS and data at the same price as at home; for data, the operator may still apply fair-use limits. Outside this area prices can soar, and it pays to buy a bundle before departure.

### Charging the phone from public USB ports

The subject generates plenty of warnings. The FCC, the US communications regulator, says it is not aware of confirmed cases, but recommends the simple solution: your own charger plugged into the wall socket or a power bank, and the “charge only” option whenever the phone asks.

## What should happen in the minutes after a loss?

The whole team should know the procedure before anyone travels:

- **Call support immediately**: with the user's name and the approximate time of the loss.
- **Lock or wipe remotely**: on a managed device, the IT team resets the laptop to factory settings remotely; in Intune, Microsoft provides this reset for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. On a Mac with FileVault, deleting the encryption key makes the disk unreadable instantly.
- **Revoke sessions**: end active sessions, change the Microsoft 365 or Google account password and review the associated MFA methods.
- **Report the theft or loss** to the local authorities and keep the receipt.
- **Assess the exposure of personal data**: with encryption on, the risk is far lower, and that weighs in the assessment the company has to carry out.

Without encryption and central management, none of these steps offers any guarantee. That is why preparation happens at the office. For Apple teams, see [how to manage and protect a Mac fleet](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/apple-mac-fleet-management-business/); for accounts, [how to roll out MFA without friction](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/mfa-business-14-day-plan/).

## How does it work for a company that is always on the move?

Tourist entertainment, alternative transport and technology: that is the business of Boost Portugal, present in Lisbon, Porto, the Douro and Madrid. Under an IT Unlimited contract, DataRoad provides ongoing user support, backups, internet redundancy, remote monitoring with alerts and management of the remote desktop environment and the VPN. This is what allows a team spread across several cities to work with the same level of protection as at the office. The full case is in [Boost Portugal: Unlimited monitoring and support](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/boost-portugal-redundant-internet-managed-it/).

DataRoad's [mobility and remote working](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-remote-working-it-portugal/) solutions combine encryption, device management, VPN and MFA. Because losses often happen at weekends, [IT Unlimited Premium 365](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/premium-365-24-7-managed-it/) extends support to nights, weekends and public holidays.

## Questions decision-makers ask

### Can staff work on the hotel Wi-Fi?

Yes, with three precautions: confirm the exact network name, do not install anything the captive portal asks for and connect to the company VPN. If the mobile plan has enough data, tethering the laptop to the phone is usually the simplest and best-protected option.

### Does disk encryption slow the laptop down?

No, on current devices the difference is not noticeable in day-to-day work. BitLocker and FileVault are built in and use the security chip the computer already has.

### Does wiping the laptop remotely mean losing work?

Only what was stored solely on the device is lost. With files in the company cloud and backup in place, work is recovered on a new laptop, hence the rule of never keeping anything important only on the desktop.

### Should employees take their work laptop on holiday?

If it is not needed, no: the safest place for it is the office. If it has to go, the same checklist as for a business trip applies, with extra attention to screen locking and use of the device by family members.

## Next step: devices ready to travel in 5 working days

DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting checks encryption, remote management, MFA, VPN and updates on every company laptop and phone, and hands over a ready-to-use loss procedure. In 11 years, DataRoad has never suffered a security incident.

Request a no-commitment proposal: **+351 211 459 950 *** · sales@dataroad.pt. More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and telephone support.

**Call to a Portuguese landline.*

## Sources consulted

- [Microsoft Learn: BitLocker overview](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/operating-system-security/data-protection/bitlocker/)
- [Apple: volume encryption with FileVault](https://support.apple.com/guide/security/volume-encryption-with-filevault-sec4c6dc1b6e/web)
- [Microsoft Learn: wiping devices in Intune](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/intune-service/remote-actions/devices-wipe)
- [Your Europe portal: EU roaming rules](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/mobile-roaming-costs/index_pt.htm)
- [FTC: public Wi-Fi network safety](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/are-public-wi-fi-networks-safe-what-you-need-know)
- [FCC: tips on “juice jacking”](https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-tips-to-avoid-it)
- [Lusa / DNoticias: incidents recorded by CNCS in 2025](https://www.dnoticias.pt/2026/4/28/490057-incidentes-de-seguranca-informatica-em-portugal-aumentaram-40-em-2025/)

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