The number of wireless access points - including public hotspots and business networks - continues to rise at an explosive rate in the world's major financial centers, according to research commissioned by RSA, the Security Division of EMC, MarketingCharts writes.
The largest year-over-year increase in wireless adoption was in London, where there are 160 percent more wireless access points (APs) than in 2006.
The increase in New York was a substantial 49 percent - and in Paris, 44 percent.
Looking purely at business access points, London also leads, with a 180 percent leap over last year, compared with increases of 57 percent and 45 percent New York and Paris, respectively.
The survey's findings also indicate that businesses are beginning prioritize the need for stronger security in wireless networks.
As measured by the use of either advanced encryption or Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), London experienced notable improvement in the security of business wireless networks over the last year. In contrast, security levels in New York and Paris improved only incrementally.
Over the past year, use of wireless security measures in business networks increased as follows:
- In London - from 74 percent in 2006 to 81 percent in 2007
- In New York - from 75 percent in 2006 to 76 percent in 2007
- In Paris - from 78 percent in 2006 to 80 percent in 2007
MarketingCharts offers additional findings from the EMC study.
