The company was forced to pay $100,000 for the software, as well as purchase legitimate copies of the software licenses from Adobe, Autodesk and Microsoft. The company was not named.
In 2015 a study conducted by global research firm IDC found that the higher the unlicensed software rate in a country, the more malware generally encountered on PCs in that country. The implication for governments, enterprises and end users is clear: eliminating unlicensed software on their networks could help reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents.
“With the influx of personal devices into the workplace, security risks and business vulnerabilities in terms of securing critical systems are continuing to increase.” said Roland Chan, Senior Director, Compliance Programs – Asia-Pacific.
Last month, BSA quadrupled the maximum incentive for people to report the use of unlicensed software by Australian businesses from $5,000 to $20,000.
Western Australia was hit with a third of the 15 piracy cases settled by BSA in 2015. According to BSA, the majority of offenders were manufacturing companies.
“With cybercrime rising in Australia, it’s now more crucial than ever for organisations to introduce a formal policy on licensed software use to create the best possible security to protect them from infringement and cyber-theft.” said Roland Chan.
Contact Qbit today on (08) 6364 0600 to find out how we can assist you with conducting audits of software licenses, along with implementing an effective Software Asset Management (SAM) practice.
This article originally appeared at CRN.