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.
