Some businesses are turning to pirated software to save money

news7f10/25/2022

1 1 minute read

A new study from Kaspersky has stated that a large number of SMEs are ready to use pirated versions of business software to reduce their IT spending.

The most common types of software that are copied are project management, marketing and sales software, with 56% of respondents saying they are happy to consider pirating a piece of cybersecurity software.

In eight months, Kaspersky said that 9,685 of its users encountered dangerous malware and unwanted software programs masquerading as popular SME software products.

What kind of software is being pirated?

During its research, Kaspersky claims it found 4,525 malicious or potentially unwanted files that were distributed via unofficially distributed (including pirated) SMB-related software.

But it notes that among small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, only 7% are willing to take such a step.

Kaspersky highlights that this type of activity can seriously affect the company’s network security, highlighting how hackers can actively distribute malicious files under the guise of software commonly used as a means of communication. to evade. firewall and compromise businesses.

“Although malicious actors rely on email as the primary means of infection, torrenting downloadable cracking software is another trick criminals use to lure victims into installing malware on their devices. their system. This in a business environment can lead to more data being compromised, or David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky.

In the case of budget constraints, Emm recommends businesses to use “free, reputable, community-backed, open source alternatives that are much less likely to contain malicious code.” .

In addition to passionately offering open-source products, Kaspersky also recommends giving employees standard accounts without administrator rights, to help prevent the spread of malware.

The company also emphasized that if your device slows down, overheats and makes a lot of noise even when no one is using it, someone may have installed a cryptocurrency miner on the device. are overloading the processor and video.