Some good news for patrons of Miami International Airport who use their smart phones and laptops to do business or pass time on social media while waiting on a flight.
According to a new survey by Coronet, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cloud security company, Miami International is one of the 10 most secure airports in the country when it comes to cybersecurity.
MIA ranked No. 9, one position ahead of Tampa International Airport.
Coronet says the purpose of the report is to inform business travelers of how insecure airport Wi-Fi can inadvertently put the integrity and confidentiality of their essential cloud-based work apps — such as G-Suite, Dropbox, Office 365 — at risk. The goal, the company said, was “to educate fliers on the dangers of connecting to unencrypted, unsecured or improperly configured networks.”
The most secure, or least vulnerable, airports were:
1. Chicago-Midway International Airport
2. Raleigh Durham International Airport
3. Nashville International Airport
4. Washington Dulles International Airport
5. San Antonio International Airport.
6. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
7. Kansas City International Airport.
8. Lambert St. Louis International Airport.
9. Miami International Airport
10. Tampa International Airport.
By comparison, according to the report, the nation’s most cyber insecure airports are:
1. San Diego International Airport
2. John Wayne Airport-Orange County Airport
3. William P. Houston Hobby Airport
4. Southwest Florida International Airport
5. Newark Liberty International Airport.
6. Dallas Love Field
7. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
8. Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
9. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
10. Boston Logan International Airport.
Coronet arrived at its Airport Threat Score rankings by collecting data from more than 250,000 consumer and corporate users who traveled through the nation’s 45 busiest airports over the course of five months. The data was analyzed to look at device vulnerabilities and Wi-Fi network risks, which was captured from the company’s threat protection applications.
“Far too many U.S. airports have sacrificed the security of their Wi-Fi networks for consumer convenience,” said Dror Liwer, Coronet’s founder, in a statement. “As a result, business travelers in particular put not just their devices, but their company’s entire digital infrastructure at risk every time they connect to Wi-Fi that is unencrypted, unsecured or improperly configured.
“Until such time when airports take responsibility and improve their cybersecurity posture, the accountability is on each individual flier to be aware of the risks and take the appropriate steps to minimize the danger.”
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