I fly out tomorrow morning for a business trip.
My CEO asked me, "Can you finish the Q4 budget reconciliation on the flight? It’s a 8-hour trip, perfect time to focus."
I looked at him with genuine horror.
I said, "Are you asking me to access proprietary financial data on a public transport infrastructure?"
I listed the threat vectors:
- Airport Wi-Fi (Man-in-the-Middle attacks).
- Airplane Wi-Fi (Unencrypted packet sniffing).
- Visual Hacking (The guy in 14B looking at my screen).
I told him, "For the safety of the organization, I must initiate a Total Digital Lockdown from the moment I leave my driveway until I am behind the hotel firewall."
He looked at me and said, "You gotta be kidding me. I work on the plane all the time."
I didn't blink.
I said, "I know. And that is why I don't sleep."
I walked away before he could argue.
So, for the next 24 hours, I am effectively "air-gapped."
In reality, I just downloaded three seasons of The Office to my iPad and I plan to drink three mini-bottles of gin.
I could use a VPN. I could use a privacy screen.
But then I'd have to do work stuff.
I'm not lazy. I'm the first line of defense.