California Ranks Near Bottom In Cybersecurity Poll

CALIFORNIA — California (sorry, Texas) is largely considered America's tech capital, but from a cybersecurity standpoint, the Golden State is more of a laggard than a leader.

That's according to a newly published business cybersecurity recovery report that paints a concerning picture for the Golden State.

The Go.Verizon study published Wednesday ranks California 47th in the U.S.

The Golden State received a "D" grade with a 65.2 score. It slid backwards from 41st place last year.

California was among six states to get a D. West Virginia, Texas, Maryland, New Mexico and Pennsylvania were the others.

No. 50 Delaware, the only state to get an F, got a 53.8 score.

Vermont topped the poll with a 94.1 score. It was among 26 states to get an A.

California ranked 49th with a 21.12 percent bankruptcy rate. Texas topped the list in that department with a 41.52 percent bankruptcy rate.

The Golden State led the nation in phishing scam losses, which totaled more than $8 million, according to the study.

Go.Verizon released the study to coincide with Cybersecurity Awareness month.

Ransomware attacks have increased 500 percent since the start of the pandemic, according to Go.Verizon. More than 60 percent of businesses victimized by cyberattack cyber attacks go belly up within six months of an attack, the communications giant said.

Go.Verizon said it obtained the information used to publish the report after consulting the most recent government data on number of small businesses per state, the percent of all business bankruptcies in the past year, the number of data breaches per state, and the number of crime types by victim count according to the FBI.

For a more detailed account of the methodology used to conduct the study, visit here.

Disclaimer: Verizon Communications has an ownership stake in Patch Media