If you don’t think of cybersecurity in terms of where you are, it may be time to start doing so. eSecurityPlanet details a new report from security firm Symantec that ranks major U.S. cities in terms of cybersecurity risk. The results may surprise you.
Only in cyberspace could the city of Seattle be considered the “riskiest” of the 50 largest U.S. cities and Detroit the “safest,” according to the latest cybercrime study conducted by Symantec’s Norton division and data researcher Sperling’s BestPlaces.
All Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) security jokes aside, it turns out that the Emerald City is actually the riskiest place for online netizens to shop, conduct banking transactions and mill about on popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Owing mainly to the high percentage of residents who frequently go online (one of several categories scored for the study), the high availability of Wi-Fi hotspots and what Symantec deemed “risky” online behavior (that is, buying products online or checking banking statements), Seattle checked in with a score of 188.2 on the risk scorecard, easily outpacing second-place Boston (176.6), Washington, D.C. (174), San Francisco (172.8) and Raleigh, N.C. (167).
