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A record number of employees are being sacked for technology mis-use, according to a report by the Federation Against Software Theft.
Nearly 60 per cent of organisations have taken action against employees for breaching software policy - a 20 per cent increase on last year. Nearly half of all actions ended in dismissal.
Over three-quarters of the companies questioned said they have a written software policy, up 12 per cent from last year.
Seven out of ten believe that the risk to the organisation from software abuse is high or very high.
“The survey shows a massive shift in management attitudes. Corporations are now taking a stand on software piracy which is indicated by the number of dismissals as a result of abuse of software management policies,” said Richard Willmott, head of Fast’s corporate services.
“We are talking about staying on the right side of the law as well as saving money. A company would not drive a fleet of untaxed vehicles and the same can be said for illegal software in an organisation.”
Fast interviewed 2,100 IT employees.
