The ‘embarrassment’ of a cyber breach

Joseph Sullivan, former security head at Uber, was jailed in 2023 for covering up a cyber attack, highlighting how many companies underreport cybersecurity breaches due to embarrassment and fear of reputational damage or fines. This underreporting is critical to keep cybersecurity breaches clandestine and thus beneficial for criminals. It also prevents the spread of valuable information that could prevent future cyber attacks. Experts urge techniques like multifactor authentication and regular patch updates, along with organization-wide open discussions about potential and actual breaches.