Burner phones and tablets: how paranoid should I be?
May 12, 2015, 2:17 pm
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2009
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Burner phones and tablets: how paranoid should I be?
I remember reading somewhere that when NBC staff were sent to Sochi to cover the Winter Olympics, the network's IT experts advised them to use "burners," ie cheap, throwaway tablets and smartphones, instead of their usual devices while they were in Russia. Is this something ordinary American tourists have to worry about?
May 12, 2015, 7:16 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: New York City
Programs: Alaska Gold. SU Silver.
Posts: 312
I remember reading somewhere that when NBC staff were sent to Sochi to cover the Winter Olympics, the network's IT experts advised them to use "burners," ie cheap, throwaway tablets and smartphones, instead of their usual devices while they were in Russia. Is this something ordinary American tourists have to worry about?
When traveling overseas and even in the US, the usual precaution applies: don’t happily join every free wifi spot you can find.
May 14, 2015, 12:25 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Programs: AA 1MM, Hyatt GP Platinum, *wood Gold
Posts: 173
Journalists who went to cover the Sochi Olympics seemed to be instructed to look for problems in Russia instead of covering the games. I recall vaguely the advice you mention here and I found it ridiculous and amusingly paranoid when I first heard it. Why not use your regular devices? Because there is a threat someone might hack your phone? Well, it can happen anywhere, most recently in Toronto.
When traveling overseas and even in the US, the usual precaution applies: don’t happily join every free wifi spot you can find.
When traveling overseas and even in the US, the usual precaution applies: don’t happily join every free wifi spot you can find.