booklets and brochures

your passport to a safe trip abroad

security tips for traveling abroad

checklist

• Learn about the places you plan to visit. Familiarize yourself with local laws and customs in those areas. Information can be obtained from your public library, local travel agency, or the U. S. State Department.


• Leave behind any government identification (badges, security passes, phone numbers, etc.) that is not necessary or the trip. In addition, leave behind photographs of family members/loved ones that could be used as coercion by terrorists or criminals.


• Ensure that you have all official documents; i.e., passport, shot records, official orders, international driver's license, etc.


• Grant power of attorney to an immediate relative/close friend. Complete or update your will to include naming a guardian for any minor children.


• Establish a point of contact for your family to call in an emergency.


• Carry an extra set of eyeglasses and any necessary medications (along with a copy of the prescription and the generic name of the drug) in your carry-on luggage. Keep all medications in their original containers.


• To avoid inviting crime, plan to dress inconspicuously to blend into the international environment. Avoid the appearance of being wealthy. Consider not taking or wearing any jewelry.


• Try to use a closed name tag, so that all personal information is concealed from casual observation. Do not display company logos on your luggage.

during your stay in a foregin country

carry identification

The increasing numbers of intruders attempting to gain surreptitious access to networks has paralleled the rapid expansion of computer networks. In general, those who illegally exploit computer networks, and the information they contain, can be grouped into three categories: agents of governments, independent or semiautonomous organizations, and private individuals.

Agents of governments may be foreign intelligence services (FISs), a research and development organization, or other governmental entities. Independent or semiautonomous organizations would include confederations such as terrorist or radical groups, narcotic traffickers, and criminal enterprises. Individuals or independent operators can include insiders, hackers, crackers, and script kiddies. These individuals may or may not collaborate with each other on occasion, but they generally act in their own interests.

All three groups have the capability to employ sophisticated tools to collect, destroy, alter, exploit, or deny legitimate users access to information. Intruders have also used computer programs that automate their attack. This includes the use of worms (programs that propagate across a network by using the resources of compromised hosts to attack other machines) or implanting Trojan horse programs (programs altered by an attacker for malicious purposes, such as collecting passwords). Such programs conduct the intruder's malicious activity without requiring direct oversight. Some attacks may also take the form of coordinated multi step exploitation, using parallel sessions in which the distribution of steps between sessions is designed to obscure the unified nature of the attack or to allow the attack to proceed more quickly.

Illegal computer intruders can also be categorized as outsider or insider attacks. Outsider attackers include intelligence services, terrorists, organized criminal groups, economic competitors, hackers, and vandals. In an insider attack, the intruder has legitimate access to a computer system but uses malicious activities to gain additional unauthorized privileges. Even though such attacks receive less attention, they can be more harmful and insidious than outsider attacks because of the information and system privileges available to legitimate users.