More than 40 percent of those who use paid cloud...
More than 40 percent of those who use paid cloud services share their log-in credentials with people inside their organizations, said a study by the Business Software Alliance. “This points to a worrisome new avenue for software license abuse,” said…
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BSA President Robert Holleyman (http://xrl.us/bnhjkm). He said the trend is the “latest sign that piracy is evolving in the cloud era, rather than dying out.” Sharing does not always mean “pirating” cloud services, he said, saying some organizations hold licenses that allow users to share accounts. But “it is worth noting that 56 percent of those who use paid cloud services for business believe it is wrong to share employer-provided log-in credentials for those accounts with other people in their organizations,” he said. The study said cloud piracy could take several forms: (1) End users could abuse their licenses for cloud services by sharing their account credentials. (2) A rogue business or an enterprise could set up a “dark cloud” for its own use that will enable to it provide pirated software to its employees. (3) An enterprise could use a private “gray cloud” to provide legally purchased software to more users than the license allows. “We need to modernize intellectual property laws so they provide clear protection and allow for vigorous enforcement against misappropriation and infringement of IP in the cloud,” said Holleyman.