You are here: silicon.com > Management > SME Director

SME Director

Software piracy risks lost on SMEs

Risky business...

Tags: sme, business software alliance, illegal software, software piracy

By Sylvia Carr

Published: 19 April 2007 12:17 GMT

Many small businesses are unaware of the risks software piracy poses to their organisations.

Nearly half - 41 per cent - of UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises believe there is no risk from using unlicensed software, according to a survey from the Business Software Alliance (BSA). And 85 per cent don't know that illegal software could make their networks and systems vulnerable to viruses.

And while 97 per cent of those questioned were confident all the software on their company systems is legal, around 27 per cent of UK businesses are thought to be using pirated software, suggesting a "severe lack of awareness regarding the level of illegal software in the workplace", the BSA said.

The anti-piracy organisation warns that businesses using unlicensed software can suffer financially, legally and operationally. Last year European SMEs faced average fines of more than £10,000 in 2006 when caught using pirated software - and left themselves open to suits over copyright violation, the group said.

In addition, because illegal software does not get the same support and patch updates as legal versions, businesses could put their data at risk of harm by using it.

To address these risks, the BSA advises SMEs to implement proper software management - such as regular audits and employee usage policies (as staff often download illegal software to their PCs from P2P and auction sites) - and licence management.

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

Naked CIO Naked CIO: Social networks are useless for finding a job 'Quantity over quality' approach poisoning professional networks

Peter Cochrane Peter Cochrane's Blog: Uneconomics We must move away from short-termism to prevent next economic crisis


  • Jobs
Global Insurance provider seek a Sox / Compliance Co-ordinator

Desirable candidates will have an extensive background in ensuring compliance, performing Sox404 reviews and general IT audits, whilst having a ...

Senior IT Auditor

Proficient in the end to end delivery of technology audits and applying a strong understanding of technology applications and infrastructure, IT ...

Leading media organisation seek an experienced IT Sox Auditor

Desirable candidates will have an extensive background in performing Sox404 audits, have a strong comprehension of COBIT, COSO and ISACA guidelines ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: