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According to BSA Global Software Survey 2016, the volume of unlicensed software installed in Armenia is relatively higher than in neighbouring countries.

As evidenced by the findings of Symantec in its most recent Internet Security Threat Report, cybersecurity threats are growing.

“BSA’s Global Software Survey conducted in partnership with IDC, estimates the volume and value of unlicensed software installed on personal computers in 2015, across more than 110 national and regional economies. It also reveals key attitudes and behaviors related to software licensing, intellectual property, and emerging technologies based on a global survey of more than 24,000 respondents,” reads the BSA report.

According to the study, 86% of software installed in Armenia in 2015 were unlicensed. The rates remained unchanged compared with those of the last year. The overall rate in post-Soviet countries has dropped by 1-6%, with Georgia having the best results.

“North America continues to have the lowest regional rate at 17 percent, although this constitutes a significant commercial value of $10 billion. In Western Europe, the overall rate dropped 1 percent to 28 percent. In the Middle East and Africa, the overall rate fell two points to reach a total rate of 57 percent,” the study reveals.

The Global Software Survey found, although trends have improved marginally, 39 percent of software installed on PCs around the world in 2015 was not properly licensed, representing only a modest decrease from 43 percent in BSA’s previous global study in 2013. Even in certain critical industries, where much tighter control of the digital environment would be expected, unlicensed use was surprisingly high. The survey found the worldwide rate is 25 percent — a full one in four — for the banking, insurance, and securities industries. Some 49 percent of CIOs identified security threats from malware as a major threat posed by unlicensed software.

Although managing cyber risk is complex, BSA’s Global Software Survey team advises to understand what is installed and running in your company’s own network, and make sure your software is both legitimate and fully licensed. SAM programs are also essential. They are designed to help companies ensure they’re properly managing their software in a way that ensures continuous compliance, minimizes exposure to risks, and maximizes the benefit companies derive from this critically important asset. These programs are available in Armenia.

“We can surely say that cybercrimes are connected with the installation of unlicensed programs. More than 300 million malware program packages are created annually, and more than 1 million cyberattacks are reported daily,” said SAM and Compliance Director at Microsoft, Dmitry Beresnev.
To avoid cyber threats and the risks of losing personal data, Mr Beresnev advises using only licensed programs.