BSA Extends $1 Million Reward To Catch Software Pirates
As part of its antipiracy crusade, the Business Software Alliance is extending its whistle-blower campaign through the end of the year.
The Business Software Alliance is extending its $1 million reward program for people reporting software piracy.
The Rewards Program, which initially kicked off in the fall of 2005, is set up to encourage people to confidentially submit "detailed information" about software piracy. Last July, the organization increased the original reward of $200,000 to $1 million. The program was set to expire at the end of September, but the alliance has now extended it through the end of the year.
According to the BSA, 35% of the software being used around the world is pirated.
"There has been a significant increase in software piracy reports in the last few months," said Jenny Blank, senior director of legal affairs for BSA, in a written statement. "We hope that the extension of the rewards program sustains this momentum. The 'Blow the Whistle' campaign will help intensify antipiracy efforts by BSA by raising awareness about this problem and helping educate businesses about the importance of proper software management."
October has been deemed National Cyber Security Awareness Month, a national campaign designed by government agencies and private industry sponsors to increase the public's awareness of cybersecurity and cybercrime issues. For its part, the Business Software Alliance announced that it will reach out to businesses and individuals to educate them about the risks of unlicensed software and ways to ensure they are only using fully licensed software.
The alliance this month also is putting out a risk awareness guide called "10 Simple Steps." It's a checklist to help businesses protect themselves against the risks of illegal software. The guide is available for free on the BSA Web page.
The BSA represents major software vendors such as Apple, CA, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft.
People can learn more about the BSA Rewards program and how to submit a confidential report by visiting the NoPiracy.com Web site or by calling 1-888 NO PIRACY.
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