When we first wrote this article in 2016, roughly 3.4 billion people used the internet and 3.7 billion had smartphones. A decade later, the landscape has changed so dramatically that those numbers feel like ancient history.

Nearly three-quarters of the world's population is now online. There are more smartphones in active use than there are people on the planet — because many of us carry more than one. Mobile devices account for nearly two-thirds of all web traffic worldwide. The connectivity that seemed remarkable in 2016 is now the baseline of daily life.

For travelers, this means extraordinary power. You can translate a conversation in real time, navigate a foreign city turn by turn, manage your bank accounts from a café in Chiang Mai, book a hotel in Namibia from an airport lounge in Frankfurt, and video-call home from a mountaintop in Iceland. The barriers to global travel that existed even twenty years ago — language, navigation, communication, financial access — have been largely erased by the device in your pocket.

The Price of Connectivity

But there is a price for all this freedom — and it isn't just your data plan.

While you are on any network connected to the internet, you are exposed to a range of threats that most travelers never think about until it's too late. Your identifying information, credit card numbers, banking credentials, and other sensitive data can be intercepted, stolen, and exploited by criminals operating across borders — often from countries where prosecution is unlikely and enforcement is nonexistent.

Here's a good rule to remember about your presence on networks: what you reach out and touch in cyberspace touches you. And that touching can be costly.

The threat landscape has expanded dramatically since we first wrote about this. Ransomware attacks have become a billion-dollar criminal industry. Phishing campaigns are increasingly sophisticated — many now use AI to craft messages that are virtually indistinguishable from legitimate emails. Public Wi-Fi networks in hotels, airports, and cafés remain one of the easiest attack vectors for criminals to intercept your data. And the rise of AI-powered surveillance tools has given both governments and private companies capabilities that would have seemed like science fiction a decade ago.

It Isn't Just Criminals You Have to Worry About

Electronic surveillance by governments is pandemic and growing. But perhaps more relevant to everyday travelers: businesses spy on you constantly.

If you think your internet service provider is your friend — think twice. Many ISPs monitor your browsing habits, analyze your online shopping patterns, and sell profiles about you to data brokers and advertisers. Your cellular provider knows where you are at all times. The apps on your phone request permissions they don't need — and use them to collect data they shouldn't have.

ISPs and cellular providers face increasing pressure from governments worldwide to monitor and report user activity. In many countries, this goes far beyond tracking criminal behavior. Governments in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Europe have expanded digital surveillance laws significantly in recent years, with some requiring ISPs to retain user data for years and make it available to authorities on demand.

For travelers, this creates a particular vulnerability. When you connect to a local network in a foreign country, you're subject to that country's surveillance laws — not your home country's. The privacy protections you take for granted at home may not exist where you're traveling. And the hotel Wi-Fi you're using to check your bank account may be monitored by parties you'd never willingly share that information with.

What Can You Do About It?

You have to take matters into your own hands. No one cares more about your security and privacy than you.

The good news is that the tools to protect yourself have become dramatically better, cheaper, and easier to use since we first wrote about this topic. Here's where to start:

Use a VPN — a Virtual Private Network. A VPN encrypts all your internet traffic and routes it through a secure server, making it unreadable to anyone monitoring the network you're on. This is the single most important security tool for any traveler who connects to hotel Wi-Fi, airport networks, café hotspots, or any public internet connection. Modern VPNs are simple to install, work on all your devices, and cost a few dollars a month. We've published a detailed comparison of some VPN services for travelers — read our full VPN & Security review here.

Digitize and encrypt your critical documents. Store encrypted copies of your passport, insurance policies, itineraries, and financial information in a secure cloud service. If your physical documents are lost or stolen, you can access everything you need from any device.

Use two-factor authentication on every account. Your email, banking, social media, and travel booking accounts should all require a second form of verification beyond your password. This single step blocks the vast majority of unauthorized access attempts.

Be skeptical of public Wi-Fi. Even with a VPN, treat public networks as hostile environments. Don't access banking or sensitive accounts on networks you don't control unless your VPN is active. And never connect to a network that doesn't require a password — open networks are the easiest to compromise.

Keep your software updated. Every device you travel with — phone, tablet, laptop — should be running the latest operating system and app updates. These updates frequently patch security vulnerabilities that criminals actively exploit.

Disable biometric logins before traveling overseas. Face ID and fingerprint unlock are convenient at home. Abroad, they're a vulnerability. If you're caught up in an extortion scheme by street criminals — and this happens more often than travelers want to believe — those criminals can hold your phone in front of your face or press your fingertip to the sensor to unlock it. You can't refuse to show your face. You can't refuse to have a finger. But you can refuse to give up a passcode. Before any international trip, switch your phone to passcode-only authentication. Convenience isn't worth the risk.

Shut down your phone completely at international customs checkpoints. A fully powered-down phone encrypts its contents. A phone that's merely locked — screen off, but powered on — is more vulnerable to forensic tools that customs authorities in many countries possess. Be aware: authorities at border crossings can seize your phone and make an exact forensic copy of it, even while it's encrypted. In some countries, they can order you to unlock your phone under threat of detention or denial of entry. You must decide for yourself how to handle these situations when they arise.

In the United States, a court order is generally required to access the contents of a phone. When warranted, authorities can issue testimonial subpoenas to compel users to provide passwords. They can also seize the device, obtain a court order, and examine its contents without the owner's approval. Other countries have different — and often far less protective — legal frameworks.

Your Freedom Depends on Your Awareness

Technology has made world travel more accessible than at any point in human history. You can go anywhere, communicate with anyone, manage everything from your phone, and navigate the planet with confidence. That's extraordinary.

But the same connectivity that empowers you also exposes you. The networks you depend on are monitored, the data you transmit is valuable, and the criminals and institutions that want access to your information are more capable than ever.

Protecting yourself isn't complicated. It doesn't require a degree in cybersecurity. It requires awareness, a few good tools, and the willingness to take five minutes to set them up before your next trip.

We've been burned by not reading the fine print on travel insurance. We've learned the hard way that rental car companies won't always tell you what you need to know. Digital security is no different. The time to protect yourself is before something goes wrong — not after.