2020 Top 10 Safety Travel Ideas For Referees & Umpires - National Cyber Security Awareness Month

In the spirit of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, OfficialsDepot.com put up a list of things to be aware of when traveling.

1- Getting a new state identification for domestic travel. The REAL ID Act requires states to adopt and implement uniform standards for the issuance and production of state-issued driver licenses and identification cards if they are to be accepted as identity documents by the federal government. Texas began issuing REAL ID compliant cards on October 10, 2016, and these cards are marked with a gold circle with an inset star located in the upper right-hand corner. If you do not have a acceptable form of ID you may not be permitted to travel. You definitely don't want to miss your game or show up late because of this! UPDATE: If your driver's license or state-issued ID expired on or after March 1, 2020, and you are unable to renew at your state driver’s license agency, you may still use it as acceptable identification at the checkpoint. TSA will accept expired driver’s licenses or state-issued ID a year after expiration or 60 days after the duration of the emergency, whichever is longer. By the way, the Department of Homeland Security recently announced an extension of time to obtain a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license. The new deadline is October 1, 2021.


2- Do not throw away your boarding passes or baggage tags after reaching your destination. Scanned bar codes have information like your full names, mileage plus numbers and sometimes itineraries.


3-Never connect your laptop, mobile phone or tablet to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network, and never, ever charge your device using a public USB port. Criminals can easily infiltrate unsecured networks or set up their own networks in public places, like airports and hotels, and use them to steal your information, and they can just as easily modify USB ports to install malware on your device when you plug it in.


4- TSA is allowing one liquid hand sanitizer container up to 12 ounces per passenger in carry-on bags until further notice. Please keep in mind that all other liquids, gels and aerosols brought to a checkpoint continue to be allowed at the limit of 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters carried in a one quart-size bag.


5- Always have ID tag that is covered on the outside and inside of your personal and equipment bag. 


6- The next time you are traveling and get a low battery warning on your phone or tablet, you might want to think twice about plugging it into a public USB charging port. While public charging ports might be a great way to give you a few more minutes of power while on the go, it might also leave your device open to hackers. Juice jacking is a type of cyber attack that uses USB ports doubling as a data connection to infect your device. This is because the USB power supply cables for smart devices such as phones, tablets and computers can also transfer data. Hackers can install malware on your phone through the USB which will forward your data to them or suck data out as soon as you plug in.
So try and keep your devices charged up, use personal charging devices or carry and extra battery. Should you REALLY need power, make sure you device (smartphone) is turned off while charging since data can not be transferred while charging.

7- Don't stay on the ground floor. The ground floor is the easiest to access for non-guests and intruders. Ask for a room a few floors up–though not too high in case of a fire or natural disaster.

8-Have the front desk employee write down your room number rather than announce it aloud

9-Use the hotel’s main entrance. This is especially vital when entering or exiting the hotel after dark.

10-To deter theft, provide the illusion that someone is in the room when you go out. This can be accomplished by keep the “Do Not Disturb” card on your door and turning on the television when you go out.

 

Blogs

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published