Computer users in Vietnam use unlicensed software at an alarming rate, despite being well aware of the associated cyber-security dangers, said a survey released yesterday by the Software Alliance (BSA), the leading advocate for the global software industry.

The survey shows that unlicensed software installation rate in Vietnam was 78 per cent in 2015, down 3 per cent against 2013.

The reduction in the unlicensed software installation rate came partially off the back of some on-going major trends in the country.

Accordingly, the PC market is generally sliding, particularly from consumers’ part in the face of rising software installation volumes.

The Vietnamese government’s concerted efforts in strengthening intellectual property right protection and the implementation of programmes to better people’s awareness have made significant contributions to lowering software copyright violation rates.

Also according to the survey, 39 per cent of software installed on computers around the world in 2015 is not properly licensed, representing only a modest decrease from 43 per cent in BSA's previous global study in 2013.

In the Asia-Pacific region, 61 per cent of software installed on computers in 2015 was unlicensed, while the commercial value of unlicensed software use was valued at $19.1 billion.

The survey also found that 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 per cent for the banking, insurance and securities industries.

“As the report underscores, it is critically important for a company to be aware of what software is on the company network.

Many CIOs don't know the full extent of software deployed on their systems or if that software is legitimate,” said BSA president and CEO Victoria Espinel.

The survey, which canvassed consumers, IT managers and enterprise PC users, reinforces that use of unlicensed software is still high, and that individuals and companies are playing with fire when they use unlicensed software.

This is due to the strong connection between cyber-attacks and the use of unlicensed software. Where unlicensed software is in use, the likelihood of encountering malware dramatically goes up. 

And the cost of dealing with malware incidents can be staggering. For example, cyber-attacks cost businesses over $400 billion in 2015 alone.

The BSA report adds that companies can mitigate cyber-security risks associated with unlicensed software by purchasing it from legitimate sources, and establishing software asset management programmes.