The Federation Against Software Theft has appointed Breda O'Shea as director of membership, a role that the organisation has created to support new and existing software publisher members.O’Shea’s appointment comes at a time when significant progress is being made on Operation Tracker, The Federation’s Internet CCTV tool that traces the whereabouts of pirates who make software available for others to download. As a result, more software publishers are expressing interest i...
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Software piracy costs…..Software piracy is a major problem for the IT industry, and recent research suggests that the current piracy level remains at a staggering 27 per cent in the UK1. It’s not just the software publishers who are losing out; the repercussions of this are costing the country billions. A reduction in software piracy levels of just 10 percentage points to 17 per cent could create 40,000 jobs and contribute £6 billion to UK gross domestic product (GDP)2.Unsurpr...
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UK companies are most fearful about mobile working, spyware and adware, according to new research undertaken by The Federation Against Software Theft.Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents cited mobile workers (64 per cent) and spyware (63 per cent) as high risk areas. Adware was the third most feared security issue, indicated by 48 per cent of companies questioned. In response, The Federation’s IT Security Group is planning a free one-day conference to help delegates assess the real thre...
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The IT Security Group, formed by The Federation Against Software Theft (The Federation), last week called for businesses to embrace the benefits of mobile working but warned that they must take appropriate precautions.Speakers from Nexus Technology, Secon and Ultima Business Solutions joined forces at The Royal College of Surgeons in London to advise FAST Corporate Services members about the ways in which the risks of mobile working can be mitigated through new technologies and cultural change. ...
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Dear Sir,Re: Letters, 21st June 2005Following Terry Billany’s query, I would like to clarify the source of the statistics that were quoted in the 7th June issue of Computer Weekly. The figures in question – that a reduction in illegal software use by ten percentage points would create40,000 additional jobs and contribute £2bn to UK tax revenue – were the findings of the largest ever study into software piracy conducted by the BSA and IDC in 2003 and would be achieved over...
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Letter to the press re. court caseDear Sir,City banker, Alex Bell, and three other perpetrators were punished by prison sentences of up to two and half years at the beginning of May for their involvement in an internet piracy gang.It isn’t surprising that these seemingly law-abiding citizens have been sentenced to jail for conspiracy to defraud, cracking security codes and releasing pirated software on the internet. Worryingly, however, most of these men held responsible IT positions.All t...
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- The Federation warns company directors that they risk being branded ‘software thieves’ because of the actions of their employees, including those in the IT department. -This warning follows The Federation’s recent discovery of over 5,800 illegal digital music files in a software audit of 2,500 PCs at a UK financial services organisation. Most of these files were illegally downloaded by people in the IT department – those normally tasked with combating the problem.T...
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- The Federation tracks illegal software downloads to individual computers and warns company directors that they are liable -The Federation Against Software Theft (The Federation) is concerned that the combination of director complacency and advanced technology make software theft rife in the UK. As a result it has raised the bar in its fight to protect the software industry against piracy with the launch of an online tracking system to trace illegal software sharing down to individual computers...
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- 50% of European SMEs hit by viruses in 2004 - The IT Security Group (ITSG) formed by the Federation Against Software Theft (The Federation) has urged the IT security industry to act in order to assist small businesses combat commerce-threatening breaches in security. The announcement followed revelations that around 50% of European SMEs fell prey to a software virus over the past year, as a result of which 32% stated that security is now their number one priority 1. The Federation’s ...
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- Software theft increases security threat -The Federation Against Software Theft (The Federation) has stepped into the current industry debate to endorse Microsoft's latest move to stamp out software piracy. Yesterday the software vendor announced that it will restrict access to security features and downloads on pirated versions of its Windows operating system. John Lovelock, director general of The Federation, stated: "Microsoft's globally recognised voice sends out a clear message on be...
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- New Software Publishers Group to create ‘kitemark’ - The Federation Against Software Theft (The Federation) is planning to introduce a new 'kitemark' for software licensing. The objective is to tackle what has, in recent years, become a thorn in the side of both the software vendor community and end users alike. The new 'kitemark' is intended to provide purchasers with a consistent and transparent agreement, thereby reducing any potential licence compliance confusion.The Federation...
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