International Loaner Laptops are designed to be as basic as possible. While this won’t meet everyone’s needs, for those who can limit their use to a Windows based computer with only web access to email, OneDrive, and MS Teams, then this solution will work for you. The following guidance will reduce the potential of theft or loss of university and personal data, as well as the possibility of bringing infected or hacked devices back from travel. Travelers are recommended to take the following steps when performing UVM travel: 

Pre-travel

• After talking with all other applicable offices and departments about your travel and garnering proper approval from your leadership, reach out to iso@uvm.edu to alert them of the dates/times of travel and destination(s). Our ISO team will be available to answer basic questions on information technology travel safety. If an international loaner laptop is right for you, they will connect you with our TechTeam staff to check for loaner availability.

• Travelers can obtain a clean International Loaner Windows 11 computer before traveling internationally. Loaners are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. We have a limited supply set aside for this purpose and they are intentionally set up to allow basic access only.

  Note: International Loaner Laptops are not available for sabbaticals or other extended periods, nor may they be used as temporary replacements for lost or stolen hardware.

  Travelers should follow all applicable university procedures before traveling. In some cases, additional training may be required. All required training must be completed before departure. The following is a short list of resources that may be beneficial for you to review.

  UVM Risk Management Travel Safety
  UVM Travel Policy
  Division of Finance International Travel Guidelines
  UVM International Travel Checklist
  Information Security Office Travel Guidance
  Office of Vice President for Research Export Control Regulations Guidance
  UVM Export Control Policy

• Travelers are encouraged not to download/store any sensitive university materials on Loaner Laptops including research data, confidential business information, or Personally Identifiable Information of members of the university community.

• Travelers should utilize web access to Microsoft OneDrive to save and access files, instead of saving files to the Loaner Laptop hard drive. If the laptop is stolen or infected, this limits the potential for data loss as well as damage to the traveler's identity. 

• Travelers should not save login credentials onto the device (logins and passwords).

• Travelers must ensure they have a mechanism to use two factor authentication while traveling – this would be a device with Duo Mobile installed or a Yubikey hardware token. [Other options can be found in the Multifactor Authentication KB Article] 

During travel

• Helpful information about the use of International Loaner Laptops can be found in the Knowledge Base.

• It is recommended that the traveler use a university-provided International Loaner Laptop for all university business. The traveler should avoid publicly available electronic devices, such as computers in a hotel lobby, business center, or café.

• Travelers should use cloud versions of the university's applications, such as Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive, on their university International Loaner Laptop. Travelers will not have administrative permissions to install local versions of any applications. 

• Don’t save login credentials onto the device.

• Remote access to a university Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) computer is permitted. [UVM VDI – Sign in, Install, and Troubleshooting – UVM Knowledge Base]

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection is allowed in many countries so that the computer can connect to UVM restricted services. However, some countries do not allow the use of VPNs and it is incumbent upon the traveler to research this before traveling. [Cisco Secure Client VPN – UVM Knowledge Base]

  Note: VPN performance may vary depending on the quality of the local internet connection.

Post-travel

• International Loaner Laptops are to be returned to the Walk-in computer clinic (Contact Us – UVM Knowledge Base) within two business days of the completion of travel.

• No data should have been stored on the loaner laptop, however, if it occurred, travelers are responsible for removing any necessary information from the Loaner Devices before their return. Once returned all devices are wiped, re-formatted, and re-imaged immediately. Any data left on a Loaner Devices will be destroyed and will not be retrievable.

• The traveler should change the passwords of accounts they accessed during their travel, particularly their UVM NetID password.