Beijing: Pirated copies of computer software are openly used throughout China, and its trade is unrestricted within its borders, Directus reported.

The recent programme failure at Bangladesh's National Data Centre (NDC) caused by unlicensed software that was given by China has once again highlighted how deeply involved China is in unethical and criminal activities. Software piracy has increased in China as a result of the Beijing government's ostensibly weak response to IP infringers. Software businesses suffered financial losses as a result of spending time and resources to create their products. Meanwhile, the market for unlicensed software has made Chinese citizens and businesses vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

ZTE is the Chinese company that is responsible for Bangladesh's use of pirated software. For alleged cyber espionage on behalf of China's communist government, many nations have banned ZTE. The NDC in Bangladesh experienced issues with the firewall system, programme updates, and hardware repairs because of pirated software. China has long been a hub for global piracy, and according to Revenera Compliance Intelligence, it topped the list in 2022. China was among the top nations with the highest piracy rates even 20 years ago. In 2001, it reached 94 per cent, as per a report published in Directus.

Directus is a daily from Greece reporting news about Greece, all the latest news and developments, geopolitical analysis and commentary on Greece's national issues.

In the 1990s, Chinese officials admitted that their own government organisations were utilising using the software.

Microsoft's marketing manager in China in 1995, Bob Lu, had found that 95 per cent of computer software in China were pirated. "No ministry has been buying software totally legally. Some are using no legal software at all," he had said.

Even two to three decades later, nothing has changed. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer expressed alarm about the fact that 90 per cent of Chinese companies use Windows but only 1 per cent pay for it a few years ago.

According to a 2018 BSA Global Software survey, the percentage of installing unauthorised software remained high over the previous ten years, reaching 77 per cent. Software piracy hurts Chinese citizens as well as international software companies, who have suffered significant losses as a result. The majority of unlicensed software, with a stunning economic worth of USD 16.4 billion, is found in the Asia-Pacific area.

The survey noted, "Within the region, USD 6.8 billion worth of unlicensed commercial value comes from China alone." Most of the population and even government offices are prone to cyberattacks, according to Directus.

Those using pirated copies do not acquire the most recent safety measures because they worry that updating their programme will lock, harm, or copy other software. Cyberattacks have been launched against numerous reputable organisations, including Tsinghua University and China Telecom and Hainan Airlines. As a result of pirated software vendors introducing "back doors" that provide hackers access to customers' systems, malware and ransomware attacks are extremely widespread in China.

Archefact Group founder Thomas Parenty, while talking about an office in Beijing, said, "It turned out every single one of their computers, all the software, was bootlegged."

Although the Beijing government has repeatedly asserted that it has taken action against the expanding Chinese software piracy industry, the actual situation is quite different. It had previously stated that cracked downs on intellectual property (IP) infringement will remove pirated software. But it was evident from the many studies that software piracy has grown. There are even claims that the Chinese government actively promotes software piracy.

According to marketing expert Tom Doctoroff, China's courts have failed to defend creative people, making it difficult to secure IP rights there. "When it comes to innovation, the Chinese won't deliver," he said. The software piracy industry is heavily dominated by Chinese businesses.

A Chinese businessman was discovered to have sold pirated copies of US commercial software in 61 nations in 2013. 200 distinct US companies' original software had been sold by him. The sale of pirated software in China seems to take place fearlessly, and it is done so at a full, authorised price, Directus reported.