Illegal Software Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Illegal Software Use - Essay Example The 2011  BSA Global Software Piracy Study reveals that the â€Å"Business decision-makers who admit they frequently pirate software are more than twice as likely as other computer users to say they buy software for one computer but then install it on additional machines in their offices,†. The latest study reveals that a number of security breaches come by known hackers. On this numerous reports including patches and software updates are presented. Moreover, a questioned is asked for the presence of relationship between unlicensed software and the perseverance of software is maintained or not? In this regard the CEO Robert Holleyman, president BSA says, â€Å"It can be a security issue.† Furthermore, he states that there is a major cultural problem that leads towards using pirated software and other security breaches. However, in any organization the security lapse can also happen due to mismanagement of its software and licensing. The unlicensed and not properly doc umented software are more prone to provided insufficient support to the organization. According to the Holleyman, the BSA report is founded over the IDC market data. The term â€Å"gold standard† is stated by the Hollyman that supports the sales of PC and software in worldwide markets (GNC Articles. 2012). This information is collected and published by Ipsos Public Affairs. The survey is held between 14,700 individuals that belong to 33 countries therefore representing around 80 percent of the worldwide software market (GNC Articles. 2012). The survey results came up with some astonishing facts. Around forty two percent of individuals had installed he pirated version of software that cost around $63.4 billion (GNC Articles. 2012). However, this cost cannot be claimed as the net loss due to the unknown budget of legal or illegal installed software as mentioned by BSA in the software industry. In the United States, the rate of pirated software is about nineteen percentages beca use it is considered as the most law-abiding country percentage-wise. In fact, for the big illegal software shares in the U.S. market the estimated net worth is approximately around $9.8 billion value. In the second place is China (GNC Articles. 2012). It is said that the country pirates an approximated 77 percent of its software. In addition, this software is of worth about $8.9 billion that stands China in the second place of illegal software after United States. The computer users in China pay out on typical just $8.89 for the legal software and in the United States this figure is around $127 for every computer. According to the BSA these cost figures for the software organizations are representing risk to U.S. economic well-being. This is due to the unwarranted aggressive advantage that is given to the industries thus encouraging them to use the pirated software. Likewise, even at the rate of 19 percent software piracy in the United States poses a major threat to the Information and Communication Technology in the United States (GNC Articles. 2012). Firstly, applications or software coming from a non-genuine source can be infected with viruses, malicious codes, Trojan horse, root kits etc. this imposes a direct threat or risks. For instance, if an operation system has been acquired from a non-genuine source, viruses can be installed with the operating system. Likewise, one cannot trust software provided by the vendor and it should be tested before implementing in a live or operational environment of a bank or financial institution. These fixes can be later on patched by security updates. In case of pirated software, update options are turned off due to the fear of Operating system validation tools from the manufacturers. Once