Justice Department Survey: Fear of Negative Publicity Main Reason Businesses Don't Report Cyber Crime

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Credit union representatives from throughout North Carolina who met recently to learn more about cyber crimes heard from an official of the US Department of Justice who shared with them some surprising facts about how often cyber crimes go unreported by businesses and why. Kimberly Kiefer of the Dept. of Justice told attendees that a Justice Department study showed that only about 20% of cyber crimes are reported each year. According to Kiefer, 51% of the businesses interviewed that chose not to report security breaches feared negative media attention, and another 35% did not report the crime out of concern their competitors would use the information against them. Speaking at the last meeting of the year of the North Carolina Credit Union League’s Risk Management Council, Kiefer stressed to attendees the importance of reporting fraud or suspected fraud as soon as it’s detected.