IN THIS digital age, organisations face a one-in-three chance of encountering malware when they instal unlicensed software into their system or buy a computer with unlicensed software on it.
Each malware attack can cost a company RM10.2 million on average and can require up to 50 days to resolve, BSA (The Software Alliance) senior director Tarun Sawney said.
“The cost for dealing with malware that is associated with unlicensed software is growing too. It can now cost a company more than RM42,000 per infected computer.
“With a rate of 51% use of unlicensed software, Malaysia is no exception to the risk of cyber attacks,” he said in his speech at the launch of the “Legalise & Protect” campaign by BSA in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Globally, the average rate of unlicensed software usage still remains uncomfortably high and exposes businesses to cyber attacks, he added.
Hence, it is critical that Malaysian companies take steps to protect their business from malicious software in their computer systems.
“This is a call to action directed at CEOs of companies based in Malaysia. Every stakeholder in a company deserves the right to have their data protected,” Sawney said.
Generally speaking, licensed software is defined as closed-source software that is distributed to authorised users under a licensing agreement and retains the intellectual property rights of its publisher.
Meanwhile, unlicensed software is obtained from an open-source which allows the code to be shared and edited by a third party.
This means anyone can use and modify the software from its original design for free, which ultimately makes users an easy target for hackers.
According to Sawney, companies operating in the Asean region mostly owe it to their investors to protect the reputations of their businesses by adhering to local laws.
Not protecting their data places firms in a position of massive reputational risk, as just one instance of data loss can ruin a company’s reputation.
“It is just not worth taking the risk and so companies must legalise, assuring the software they have installed are licensed according to the publisher’s licensing terms to protect their reputation,” he said.
As of 2017, there were 57% of unlicensed software installation cases globally, BSA reported.
It was also found that companies in the advertising, architecture, engineering, furniture and manufacturing fields are most likely to instal unlicensed softwares.
Data losses or breaches are not new to Malaysia. Last year, Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd and Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd suffered data breaches which saw millions of customers’ information being leaked online.
This came after one of the country’s biggest data leaks in 2017, which saw the personal information of some 46 million mobile phone subscribers leaked onto the Dark Web, said to have originated from an attack in 2014.
As of October last year, there were 178 data breach cases reported in Malaysia — almost a 200% jump from the 63 attacks recorded the previous year, according to data from the Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team of CyberSecurity Malaysia.
A survey released by Chubb SME Cyber Preparedness Report 2019 — Ignorance is Risk — in the same month also showed that 84% of small and medium enterprises in Malaysia were victims of cyber incidents during the year, with 67% of respondents incorrectly believing that larger corporations were at higher risk of cyber attacks.
Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/02/25/one-in-3-companies-risks-malware-infection-when-using-unlicensed-software/