mputer system may be co-opted by another worker for personal or work use without the knowledge of the manager (Conly & McEwen, 1990).
The theft of software is extremely difficult to prevent, given the ability of computer personnel to make pirate "copies" of diskettes, or tapes, for their own personal use (Mandell, 1985, p. 342). In fact, there have been reports that pirate software is being sold on a regular basis by those computer personnel who used their employer's software as the main source (p. 343). "Magnetic tapes and disks can be copied easily and quickly, without leaving any trace. Several state policemen in Boston, Massachusetts, were investigated for allegedly selling criminal history files to private investigators, who in turn sold them to credit-reporting agencies" (P. 348). Regardless as to the sophistication of the computer security system, it is virtually impossible to prevent the copying of software. This is particularly the case, given the profound number of personal computers in the work-place. The United States Department of
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