BSA launched the "Legalize and Protect" initiative to provide CEOs with the information about the risks businesses face when using unlicensed software, including cyber security risks.

Mr Tarun Sawney of BSA

In September 2019, BSA launched the campaign “Cleaning Up to the Countdown” to persuade CEOs to ensure that their companies only use legal software. The campaign has been deployed in four Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

More than 1,000 economic groups throughout ASEAN have legalized software for thousands of personal computers (PC) in the efforts of the campaign to persuade CEOs in Southeast Asia to buy genuine software.

Realizing that Vietnam has been left far behind in the campaign of legalizing software, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has decided to deal with Vietnam’s businesses with a heavy hand.

The CEOs in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand have approved the plans to buy legal software for 6,000 computers. Thailand and the Philippines are leading the movement, partially thanks to drastic actions by the local police. In Indonesia, a corporation reportedly has legalized software for thousands of computers.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the software legalization has been made with about 200 computers.

Vietnamese companies in 33 cities and provinces were encouraged to voluntarily legalize their software assets, but only 50 companies have been recognized as making significant efforts to do this. About 30 percent of software has been legalized in HCM City, a higher proportion than Hanoi.

A survey by BSA in 2018 found that 75 percent of the software in use are unlicensed, the figure which is much higher than the average level of 57 percent in Asia Pacific.

According to Tarun Sawney from BSA, tens of thousands of companies in Vietnam use unlicensed software and very few CEOs have come forward and settled the problem. He said it is an irresponsible act of putting national data security at risk of hacking.

CEOs in Vietnam need to understand that it would be better to take the initiative in legalizing the software now, or they will meet with big problems later. They need to understand that legal software is the best way to avoid large-scale damages to cybersecurity, law, and reputations.

BSA is currently reviewing the records of 3,500 companies in the North, 1,500 companies in the Central region and 5,000 companies in the South.

Some CEOs will only get to work if they face pressure from the government’s enforcement force. Therefore, BSA plans to work more closely with government partners to take appropriate legal actions when dealing with cases of refusal to comply, according to Sawney, who explained why BSA needs to take drastic measures. 

Ha An

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