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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 on Thursday. Afraid
of negative publicity, most companies that suffer intrusions take
a tight-lipped approach that leaves consumers unaware when their
identities may be 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 say has managed to reduce the impact of computer
worms and viruses. Still, a 2004 FBI cyber-crime survey found that
only 20 percent of companies report computer intrusions to the police,
and half don't report them to anybody. "A business organization
or a government organization for that matter has an obligation to
inform the employees or customers that have been potentially harmed
as a result of the data breach," said Larry Ponemon, a privacy
and security consultant who has advised a wide variety of companies.
Only one state -- California -- requires companies to notify consumers
when an outsider is able to access their Social Security numbers
or other information that puts them at greater risk for identity
theft.
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