Hacking attacks rarely made public, experts say

A Computerworld article by Andy Sullivan from Reuters indicates that hacking attacks are rarely made public.

"A security breach that placed consumers at risk for identity theft grabbed headlines this week, but most hacking incidents go unreported to police or the public, experts said yesterday. Afraid of negative publicity, most companies that suffer intrusions take a tight-lipped approach that leaves consumers unaware that their identities may have been compromised, they said. At the same time, businesses are becoming more willing to discuss security issues with their competitors behind the scenes in an effort to head off online threats -- an approach experts that said has helped reduce the impact of computer worms and viruses. Still, a 2004 FBI cybercrime survey found that only 20% of companies report computer intrusions to the police -- and half don't report them to anybody."