Security Slideshow:
Corporate Software Piracy: 10 Fast Facts

Pirated software poses a huge risk for corporations, according to a report from the Business Software Alliance (BSA). Getting corporate users to download malicious programs is one of the most surefire ways for hackers to gain access to your network. Some of these threats come in the form of malware, while others pretend to be innocuous programs. According to the BSA, an anti-piracy organization, businesses in six states were responsible for nearly half of all alleged cases of corporate software piracy in the U.S. BSA receives tips from IT personnel and other knowledgeable sources through its online reporting form. “The trend underscores how prevalent these harmful copyright violations are throughout the US economy,” says Jodie Kelley, the BSA’s Vice President of Anti-Piracy and General Counsel. The overall software piracy rate in the United States was 20 percent in 2010, according to the BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study, and its commercial value was nearly $9.5 billion. BSA offers companies a state-of-the-art training course and certification program called SAM Advantage, which teaches them how to avoid piracy in the first place by better managing their software tools as strategic assets. The course helps companies understand how to capture greater business value from their software assets while increasing efficiency and avoiding security risks and legal jeopardy.