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AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES ARE AT STAKE DUE TO THE ILLEGAL USE OF SOFTWARE

In the year 2016, Australian businesses have been hit with $589,000 in damages over the use of unlicensed software. “By using unlicensed software, businesses are compromising their cybersecurity policies and putting their customers data at risk. It can also result in financial losses for the business, as information can be intercepted and repurposed for others financial gain. Not to mention the impact to the reputation of the organisation, business and its employees during any legal proceedings.” BSA director of compliance programs, Gary Gan  said.

During 2016, the global software industry advocate organisation which is widely known as BSA settled 14 cases Australia wide. Each business caught using unlicensed software was forced to purchase genuine software licenses for its ongoing use, in addition to paying the copyright infringement damages.

“Our 2016 results reflect the increased public awareness of the security and business challenges that unlicensed software poses to Australian businesses. We strongly encourage all businesses, across all sectors to implement an effective Software Asset Management (SAM) practice. This, combined with regular checks of software licenses and deployments, will ensure their business is secure and avoids legal risks,” Gan added.

Other than the risk of paying copyright infringement damages, other benefits of using licensed software are –

  • Pirated software often contains malware which can lead to the theft of company’s confidential information.
  • With licensed software, regular software updates are available to mitigate any risks associated with vulnerabilities discovered since the software was first released.
  • Pirated software can cause severe damage to your computer hardware which requires hardware replacement.
  • Having genuine and licensed software speaks volumes about your company’s reputation and governance.
  • Avoid all unnecessary IT and cyber security risks.

Whatever IT compliance requirements your business has, Majestic can assist in ensuring that you are always on top of the requirements. Utilising the industry standard tools and best practices, technology experts at Majestic can help your organisation to review your compliance requirements, current setup and help you fill in the missing pieces. Any work related to IT audit and compliance completed by Majestic are documented using standard documentation processes.

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