Grand Theft Auto V is the most favored game among software pirates, especially those who use their company's Internet connection to download games and software, a report says.
This is only one of the many findings a report by BitSight Insight uncovered. The report aims to assess cybersecurity awareness at 30,700 companies.
Alongside Grand Theft Auto V, Adobe Photoshop was also noted to be popular.
The researches found that 39 percent of the torrented games and 43 percent of the apps downloaded by users via piracy sites come with malicious software. Malware could then possibly infect the corporate network without the knowledge of the person downloading the files.
Apart from Grand Theft Auto V, the games The Sims 4, Mortal Kombat X, FIFA 15 and The Witcher were also found to be among the most illegally downloaded games using a corporate connection.
As for the most torrented programs, next to Adobe Photoshop are Microsoft Office, followed by operating systems Microsoft Windows 8.1, Microsoft Windows 7 and Microsoft Windows 10.
It is worth noting that workers in the education sector were found to be at the top of the list of those who frequently download games and apps from file-sharing sites. They were followed by the employees coming from the tourism and hospitality sectors. Holding the next spots are those coming from government/politics and energy sectors.
"While many businesses have policies in place that prohibit employees from peer-to-peer file sharing in the office, BitSight has learned that this activity occurs on a significant percentage of company networks," says BitSight.
More than the legal implications of breaking company policies and downloading copyrighted content, the dangers of malware affecting corporate networks could be disastrous.
What makes torrented software and games hazardous are the executable files they come with, unlike music or video files. These executable files authorize the user's computer to automatically carry out tasks along with other functions even without the involvement of the user, posing a serious threat to corporate cybersecurity.
