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24 March 2014Copyright

Microsoft study forecasts billions will be spent fighting piracy

Businesses and governments in the Asia Pacific region are likely to spend nearly $500 billion fighting piracy and data breaches, a report commissioned by Microsoft has found.

The report, which surveyed more than 1,000 professionals and government officials in 17 countries, estimated that businesses will have to spend up to $127 billion to tighten security and a further $364 billion to deal with malicious software.

It said the greatest fear of 60 percent of respondents was the loss of trade secrets, personal data, files and information online.

It added that governments could lose out on as much as $50 billion per year.

The study, called The Link between Pirated Software and Cybersecurity Breaches, was carried out by the International Data Corporation (IDC) and National University of Singapore (NUS).

It was released as part of software company Microsoft’s ‘Play It Safe’ campaign, a global initiative to create awareness of malware, piracy and data breaches.

The figures were also supported by NUS analysis of more than 200 computers in 11 countries and a survey of consumers and IT professionals from countries including Brazil, China, India, Japan, the US and Mexico.

“Using pirated software is like walking through a field of landmines: You don’t know when you’ll come upon something nasty, but if you do it can be very destructive,” said John Gantz, chief researcher at IDC.

“The financial hazards are considerable, and the potential losses could leave once-profitable businesses on shaky ground,” Gantz added.

Jeff Bullwinkel, associate general counsel at Microsoft Asia Pacific and Japan, said the effect of cybercrime was “financially devastating.”

“Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to break into computer networks to take your money, steal your identity, and passwords for financial gain,” he added.

The full report is available here.

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