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Las Vegas Named America’s Most ‘Cyber Insecure’ City In New Report

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Andrew Kerr Investigative Reporter
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Las Vegas is the nation’s most “cyber insecure” metro, according to a report released Tuesday by Coronet, an award-winning Tel Aviv-based cloud security company.

Based on data collected by its proprietary cloud security application from December 2017 to May 2018, Coronet found that Las Vegas exceeds the national average in every cybersecurity vulnerability category.

The report found that 43 percent of Wi-Fi networks in Las Vegas are unencrypted, unsecured or improperly configured, putting the city’s 6.5 million annual convention attendees and 35.5 million tourists at risk of falling victim to cyber attacks.

Further compounding the city’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, Coronet identified over 400,000 devices in Las Vegas with no password protection, and nearly 270,000 devises using illegitimate operating systems that are not supported with security patches.

“The use of public Wi-Fi in hotels, restaurants and casinos, combined with the State of Nevada’s vastly underfunded cybersecurity budget, help propel Las Vegas to the distinction as America’s most insecure city,” the report states.

Coming in second and third behind Las Vegas in Coronet’s ranking of America’s most cyber insecure metros are Memphis and Charlotte. (RELATED: Report: Most Federal Agencies Face Challenges Safeguarding Sensitive Data)

Coronet’s report was developed to help small and mid-sized businesses with low IT budgets better understand the cybersecurity landscapes in the nation’s 55 largest metro areas.

Small and mid-sized businesses that lack dedicated resources to respond to cybersecurity risks are “extremely vulnerable to ransomware, cloud attacks and other social engineering techniques,” the report states.

“While big companies may have the budgets, personnel and resources to protect their assets reasonably well, the mid-market and small businesses are mostly left to fend for themselves,” said Coronet founder Guy Moskowitz. “This is both unfortunate and a recipe for disaster.”

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