I’ve heard plenty of people tell me that they feel a bit uneasy about their security when they visit and travel around China.
Should they bring their phone? Is their internet activity monitored?
While there’s a lot of unnecessary anxiety regarding your online security in China, there are still some measures that you can take right now to make sure you stay safe as a traveler or expat in the Middle Kingdom.
1. Consider Using a Burner Phone
There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to what China can and can’t do when you connect your phone to their network. Sometimes it’s better to play it safe.
This is especially true if you plan on visiting more sensitive areas like Tibet or Xinjiang, where travelers have been known to have their phones confiscated, reviewed and had a device plugged into them.
Solution: You can either buy a burner phone prior to your travels or you can even rent a phone to use temporarily while you’re in China. The best part about renting a phone is that it comes with a China SIM card pre-installed!
2. Tighten Up Your Personal Online Security
As a general rule, we tend to be nonchalant about our online security back in our home country. It’s bad enough that we expose ourselves to such risk at home, but the problem is magnified even greater while you’re abroad.
Make sure you use a VPN to connect to public networks and double-check your passwords to make sure they’re strong. You can even use a good password checker to see if what you already have is good enough.
Personally, I use a password manager app, a VPN and a more secure web browser like Firefox to prevent any unwanted snooping on my stuff.
3. Minimize Online Banking While Overseas
As much as it’s temping to want to check your bank balance or make sure you have enough money to pull from the ATM, do your best to minimize how often you log into your online banking while you’re in China.
The risk of being hacked is pretty low, but the last thing you want is for somebody to pull a man-in-the-middle attack while you’re in China and get a hold your banking details.
4. Monitor Your Accounts When You Return
Within a month of one of my trips to China, I noticed unusual activity on both my email and bank accounts. To top it all off, somebody tried to open up a credit account in my name that same month.
Coincidence? Probably.
But China is known for its sophisticated cyber abilities. It’s not a bad idea to keep a close eye on all your accounts for a few weeks/months after you make your trip.
Final Thoughts | Online Security
Hear me correctly here: there’s no reason to be particularly scared or paranoid about China. But as you travel internationally, it’s always a good excuse to review your online security habits and make sure you’re not vulnerable.
Back in your home country, you might have recourse should somebody try to hack or steal your data. But if that person is in a foreign country, you can just forget about it.
So make sure you use a burner phone, create better passwords, minimize your online banking and monitor your accounts while you travel to China.
More than likely nothing will happen…but it’s better to be safe than sorry!
