IT firms the worst offenders for unlicensed software - BSA
Some 38 per cent of workers would be prepared to shop their employers for dabbling in illegal software, BSA-backed study finds
IT and telecoms firms are the worst offenders when it comes to using illegal or unlicensed software, the Business Software Alliance's latest research of UK workers has suggested.
Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of workers in the IT and telecoms industry quizzed in a survey backed by the anti-piracy body suspected their business is guilty of using illegal software.
For UK workers in general, the figure is a more modest 10 per cent, according to the research of 2,000 UK workers.
IT and telecoms workers are also more willing to shop their employers than any other sector, with half saying they would grass them up for illegal software activities, compared with 38 per cent for respondents across the board.
Last year, the BSA claims it saw a 58 per cent hike in whistleblower reports from disgruntled UK workers, an activity for which the BSA offers a reward of up to £10,000 if it results in a legal settlement.
According to the BSA - a trade body whose members include Microsoft and Adobe - one UK SME stumped up £200,000 in damages last year for using copies of unlicensed software.
"With a third of workers willing to blow the whistle on illegal or unethical IT practices, businesses need to make sure their house is in order before it's too late," said Sarah Coombes, managing director at BSA EMEA.
"Our research shows that employees aren't willing to put up with any practices that breaks laws or put their ethics into question. As a result we've seen a dramatic increase in whistleblower reports we've received in the last year."
According to the BSA's most recent data, the UK piracy rate stands at 24 per cent.
In its latest effort to combat this, the BSA has launched its ‘Fact or Fiction' campaign to warn UK business about what it claims are the dangers of using unlicensed software. As part of this, the BSA said it is contacting companies in London's financial, professional service and creative industries.