**The Business Owner’s Guide to Holiday Travel
(That Won’t End in a Data Breach)**
For Treasure Coast & Palm Beach Professionals
You’re three hours into a five-hour drive up I-95 to spend the holidays with family. Your daughter leans forward:
“Can I play Roblox on your laptop?”
Your work laptop — the one with client documents, financial reports, passwords, and access to your entire business network. You’re stretched thin, you’re tired, and honestly… letting her play might keep the car quiet.
But here’s the reality:
Holiday travel exposes your business to risks you’d never face during a normal workweek.
You’re distracted, jumping between vacation and “just checking email,” connecting to unfamiliar WiFi networks, lending devices to family members, and operating far outside your secure routine.
Before you accidentally create your own holiday cybersecurity horror story, here’s how to protect your business and keep your family trip stress-free.
Before You Leave: The 15-Minute Tech Prep
Take a quick 15 minutes before pulling out of your driveway in Palm Beach Gardens or Port St. Lucie:
Device Basics
- Install all pending security updates
- Back up important files to your cloud system
- Enable automatic screen locking (2-minute max)
- Turn on Find My Device for phones, tablets, and laptops
- Charge your portable power bank
- Bring your own charging cables and adapters
The Family Conversation
- Explain which devices the kids can use
- Set up a dedicated family tablet for games and movies
- If kids must use your laptop, create a separate guest account with no permissions
Pro tip: A $150 tablet is far cheaper than a data breach.
Hotel WiFi: The #1 Thing People Get Wrong
You check into your Orlando, Tampa, or Savannah hotel. Everyone jumps on the WiFi instantly — phones, tablets, laptops, game consoles.
But hotel WiFi is shared by hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people.
And not all of them are up to good things.
Real scenario:
A family connected to what looked like the hotel WiFi — but it was actually a fake network created by someone in the parking lot. Every password they typed for two days was captured.
How to Stay Safe
- Confirm the exact WiFi name with the front desk — never guess
- Use a VPN for any work-related activity
- For sensitive logins (banking, client data, business apps), use your phone’s hotspot, not hotel WiFi
- Kids streaming Netflix on hotel WiFi is fine — you accessing client files is not
The “Can I Use Your Laptop?” Problem
Kids don’t mean harm — but they click pop-ups, install browser extensions, accept every prompt, and share passwords with friends.
On your family iPad? Fine.
On your business laptop with access to client data? Big problem.
If You Must Share Your Laptop
- Create a separate limited user account
- Stay nearby while they use it
- Don’t allow downloads
- Clear the browsing history afterward
- Never save passwords in that account
Better yet: bring a separate family device for all kid entertainment.
Streaming on Hotel TVs: The Log-Out Nightmare
Hotel TVs now allow Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, etc.
But many travelers forget to log out when they check out.
Next guest = full access to your account.
And if you reuse passwords (most people do), attackers will try those credentials elsewhere.
Instead:
- Cast from your own device
- If you must sign in, set a phone reminder to log out
- Or download shows before the trip and skip the smart TV altogether
Never log into:
- Banking apps
- Work systems
- Social media
- Any account with stored payment info
If a Device Goes Missing
Holiday travel is chaotic. Devices get left behind at restaurants, TSA bins, hotel rooms, gas stations, and rental counters.
Within the First Hour
- Use Find My Device
- If it’s not recovered immediately, remotely lock it
- Change passwords for critical accounts
- Contact your MSP (Capstone IT 😉) to revoke access
- Notify affected clients if sensitive data may be exposed
Before Travel, Make Sure Your Devices Have:
- Remote tracking
- Strong passcodes
- Automatic encryption
- Remote wipe capability
The Rental Car Data Trap
When you connect your phone to the rental car’s Bluetooth, the car often saves:
- Your phone list
- Your recent calls
- Text preview data
- Your home address from GPS
Before Turning in the Car/p>
- Delete your device from Bluetooth
- Clear the car’s navigation history
- Or avoid Bluetooth altogether and use an aux cable
The “Working Vacation” Boundary Problem
You promise yourself this is a family trip…
But then you check email 47 times, answer a few calls, and squeeze in an hour of laptop time.
This is where most breaches happen — when you’re tired, distracted, and rushing.
Set These Boundaries:
- Check work email only twice per day
- Use your phone’s hotspot for anything business-related
- Work only from your hotel room, never in public spaces
- When you’re with family, be with family
Truth: Your business won’t collapse if you unplug for a few days — and you’ll be more alert to threats when you come back rested.
The Holiday Travel Security Mindset
Holiday travel is messy. You can’t be perfect. But you can be intentional.
- Prep devices before leaving
- Know which activities are risky
- Separate work tech from family tech
- Have a plan for lost devices
- Know when to say, “Not on this device.”
A little preparation protects your business, your clients, and your peace of mind — so you can actually enjoy your holidays.
Make This Holiday Memorable for the Right Reasons
The holidays should be filled with family, not cybersecurity emergencies.
If you want help creating a simple, practical Travel Security Checklist for your team, Capstone IT can build one for you.
Schedule your free security consultation
https://www.capstoneitservices.com/contact-us/
Because the last thing you want to remember about your holiday trip is:
“Remember when Dad’s laptop got hacked?”