If you bought a DVD sometime in the mid 2000s, then you’ll have seen the advert against piracy that argues that ‘you wouldn’t steal a car’ – so you definitely shouldn’t steal a movie. Software piracy, however, can be slightly less obvious and some businesses could be partaking in practices that are considered illegal and could also put their business at risk of cyber attacks.
Software piracy is illegally copying or distributing software without having the right to do so. While this may sound simple at first, this also includes copying software to multiple computers or sharing with multiple individuals without having the appropriate license to do that. So, while you might think that your business is within its rights to use software across devices, you may unwittingly be committing a crime. And, unfortunately, ignorance is not an excuse.
To prevent the huge fines that can come with charges of software piracy (one business in the UK paid a £250,000 fine for using Adobe, Autodesk, and Microsoft copies without a licence) you need to take a proactive approach to monitoring your software usage and that of your employees. Taking regular checks to ensure that you’re still within the terms of your license can be a simple step that could save your business thousands of pounds.
However, some cases of software piracy are not so unwitting. Using intentionally pirated software, however, while being cheaper than legitimate alternatives, can put your entire business at risk – and not just if you get caught. Paying for and using pirated software is a huge security risk, as many of these software packages come with hidden malware or reduced security measures which leave your business vulnerable to cyber-attacks. These attacks can be absolutely devastating for businesses as well as the people working there, especially if passwords are used across business and personal accounts. Even if pirated software doesn’t necessarily come with malware built in, there still remains a significant risk of malware attacks as such software doesn’t come with the security measures and, crucially, updates that legitimate software packages provide.
In short, pirated software is a really bad idea. For both you and your business, using pirated software can have far-reaching repercussions on many levels: criminal records, huge costs, and loss of client trust to name a few. Instead of saving money in the short term, only to pay it back tenfold in the future, investing in secure, reliable, and updated software is the sensible thing to do as well as making sure that you’re within the terms of the accompanying licenses. If you’d like to learn more about how you can prevent accidental software piracy, or which software packages are the best for you, you can contact one of our team who will be happy to help you. Alternatively, the Corona IT Solutions blog contains a wealth of information about different types of software, digital tools for your business and more.
