UK office workers unmoved by software misuse

Anti-piracy body's research reveals that most office workers turn a blind eye to software misuse

Three quarters of UK office workers would not report their colleagues for software misuse, according to research from the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST).

In a survey of 204 UK office workers, 71 per cent said their employer had a policy to prevent the use of illegal software, but 76 per cent said they would not report anyone for breaking it.

Apathy was the most popular reason given for not blowing the whistle (46 per cent), followed by fear of reprisals (22 per cent) and job protection (13 per cent).

This is despite the existence of legislation that protects the identities of people who report workplace malpractice. According to the survey findings, just 31 per cent of workers are aware of this legislation.

Of the 24 per cent who would shop a colleague, nearly a third said they would do it for law-abiding reasons.

Julian Heathcote Hobbins, general counsel, FAST, said: "Not only are workers completely unaware of their rights in the workplace when it comes to doing the right thing, the worrying message that is coming out of this research is that they do not care."

Victor DeMarines, vice president of products for anti-piracy software vendor V.i. Labs, added: "One reason why people do not care is that unlicensed software has become easier to obtain, so more individuals and businesses are adopting it without considering the repercussions.

"Software can therefore spread quickly within large organisations without users knowing whether or not it is legitimate," he concluded.