LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas opened a groundbreaking new exhibit today that explores how organized crime has evolved from "street shakedowns" to "cyber shakedowns" in the digital age.
"Digital Underworld" is the first exhibit of its kind to examine how hackers and ransomware rings have become today's most profitable criminals. The exhibit features a live global cyber-threat map developed by Check Point Software Technologies as its centerpiece.
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"Millions of dollars are being stolen right now as we speak, and many of the threats that you see here are in service to one of the largest threats, and that is ransomware," said Zach Jensen, Mob Museum content developer. "Ransomware is something that we covered in this exhibit over here, and this is digital extortion. This is stealing money, millions of dollars every day from companies and from people."
Jensen pointed to a local example that many Las Vegas residents will remember from two years ago in 2023, when MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment were both victims of a massive cyberattack that shut down guest check-ins and slot machines, costing the Strip millions of dollars.
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"This is a complex network of cyber criminals that affects us here in Las Vegas," Jensen said.
The Digital Underworld exhibit features several notable artifacts, including a floppy disk containing one of the first computer viruses, a toy whistle used to hack pay phones, and tools from some of the world's most notorious and now reformed hackers.
Museum leaders hope the Digital Underworld exhibit will make visitors more aware and vigilant about protecting themselves from cybercrime.
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