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Small businesses 'at greater risk of unsafe and illegal software'

Small businesses could be placing themselves at risk of both computer viruses and prosecution through their use of unlicensed, and potentially unsafe, software, it has been claimed.

A newly-published report from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) revealed that London is the number one spot for unlicensed software in the UK.

What's more, smaller firms are more likely to be using such illegal software as they don't have the resources available to check that all their programmes are licensed and secure, with many therefore leaving themselves open to the possibility of malware or at a greater risk of being infected by computer viruses.

"Small businesses are particularly susceptible to using unlicensed software because they don't have big IT departments, they don't have compliance, which for, say, a large financial organisation, is very much part of what it does on a daily basis," explained the BSA's Julian Swan.

"It's quite clear [when it comes to unlicensed software] it's not necessarily a deliberate act by any means. The trouble is that doesn't mean that it's not illegal."

These comments come soon after Gartner reported that the value of the global enterprise software market is due to grow by just 0.3 per cent to $222.6 billion over 2009.

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