You’re three hours into a drive through Utah canyon country on your way to visit family for the holidays. Your daughter asks, "Can I use your laptop to draw in SketchUp?" It’s your work laptop—the same one that houses client blueprints, 3D BIM models, Revit project files, and access to your firm's project management system.
You’re tired, the drive is long, and you just want peace. What’s the harm?
Here’s the thing: Holiday travel creates IT vulnerabilities architectural firms in Salt Lake City can’t afford. Whether you’re a project lead reviewing drawings from Deer Valley or an Ops Director checking e-mail from your phone in a hotel lobby, the mix of fatigue, public networks, and blurred boundaries between family and firm introduces serious cybersecurity risk.
This guide is for architectural decision-makers—principals, directors, and operations leads who carry their business in their backpack. Here’s how to keep your tech (and client trust) intact this season.
Before You Leave: Your 15-Minute Architecture Firm IT Checklist
Whether you’re heading to Park City or flying out of SLC International, spend 15 minutes preparing your devices:
Workstation Basics:
- Install all software and security updates (especially Revit, AutoCAD, and VPN tools)
- Back up architectural files to the cloud (ideally a cloud service optimized for BIM collaboration)
- Enable screen lock (set to 2 minutes)
- Activate "Find My Device"
- Fully charge power banks
- Bring your own charging cables (never borrow)
Team Talk:
- Clarify which devices kids can use (and which are work-only)
- Set up a dedicated travel tablet for family use
- If sharing a laptop is unavoidable, create a guest account with limited access
Pro Tip: A $150 iPad is cheaper than the fallout from a ransomware attack on your architectural firm’s file server. Your IT provider should help you separate personal and professional access points.
Hotel WiFi Is a Hacker's Playground
Let’s say you check into your hotel in downtown Salt Lake. Within minutes, your family connects to the WiFi. Your teenager is streaming, your partner is reading the news, and you're logging into your firm's cloud workspace to review a project for an upcoming client meeting.
Pause.
That shared WiFi network? It could be a fake. We’ve seen phishing networks set up by someone parked outside in a car, collecting data from unsuspecting travelers.
How to Stay Secure:
- Always confirm the exact WiFi name with the front desk
- Never access project files or client data without using a VPN
- Use your phone’s mobile hotspot for critical access (like your Revit server or project dashboards)
- Never run work applications on a network your family is using for casual browsing
The "Can I Use Your Laptop?" Dilemma
Your laptop is a portal into your firm’s inner workings—proposal drafts, construction sets, client NDAs, and CAD libraries.
Your kid wants to watch YouTube. Or draw in SketchUp. Or play Roblox. We get it.
Why It Matters: Kids click on things. They install random apps. They save passwords. They mean well, but their behavior can compromise everything from your project storage to client confidentiality.
Safe Options:
- Don’t share your work device. Period.
- If you must, set up a restricted guest account
- No downloads, no stored passwords, no auto-logins
- Clear browser history and reboot after use
Better yet: Carry a travel-only laptop or tablet that has zero connection to your firm’s systems.
Smart TVs and Netflix: The Log-Out Trap
That hotel room smart TV is tempting. You log into your Netflix account to entertain the kids, then forget to log out at checkout. The next guest now has access.
The Bigger Risk: Many people reuse passwords across accounts. If your Netflix password is the same as your project dashboard password (please say it isn’t), you’ve got a problem.
Safer Options:
- Cast from your own device
- Set a reminder to log out before checkout
- Never access sensitive accounts (e-mail, project management, financial tools) from a hotel TV
What To Do If You Lose A Device
It happens. You leave your tablet in a Lyft, your laptop at a coffee shop, your phone at security.
Within the First Hour:
- Use your tracking software (Find My Device, MDM, etc.)
- Lock it remotely
- Change passwords for key accounts (e-mail, cloud storage, collaboration platforms)
- Notify your MSP or IT provider to revoke access to firm systems
- If client data may have been compromised, prepare your incident response steps
Beware the Rental Car Sync Trap
Rental cars are data sponges. You connect your phone via Bluetooth for navigation or music, and the car remembers:
- Contact lists
- Call logs
- Location data
Before returning the car, clear all Bluetooth pairings and GPS data.
Safer move: Use an aux cord or skip car sync entirely.
Working Vacation? Set Boundaries or Risk Exposure
You promised the team you'd take a real break. But you're checking e-mail on the ski lift, uploading photos to a shared drive at the lodge, and reviewing Revit files while your family is out to dinner.
The Problem: Distraction. Rushed decisions. Unsecured networks. These are the perfect storm for compromised data.
How to Protect Yourself:
- Schedule 2 set times per day to check e-mail or project updates
- Only work from your hotspot, not hotel or cafe WiFi
- Never open client files in public spaces
- Log out of all platforms when done
Real talk: You need a break. A burned-out project manager is just as dangerous to your business as a malware attack.
Holiday Security Is About Minimizing Risk
Traveling with family while staying connected to your Salt Lake City architectural firm is complicated. Perfection isn’t the goal. Intentionality is.
What to do:
- Prep your devices and backup files
- Separate work and family tech
- Avoid public WiFi for work-related tasks
- Set limits on how and when you connect
- Be ready to act fast if something goes wrong
Let This Season Be Memorable for the Right Reasons
The holidays should be about time with the people who matter—not sending apology e-mails to clients or dealing with the fallout from a lost laptop.
If you're a Salt Lake City architecture firm leader who wants to secure your firm's data before the holiday rush, Qual IT is here to help.
Schedule Your Free Network Security Assessment
We’ll review your current setup, identify vulnerabilities, and help you create travel-ready protocols that protect your people, projects, and reputation.
Click here to book your free network assessment
Because the best part of your holiday shouldn't be surviving a breach—it should be enjoying the peace of knowing your firm is protected.
