42% of IT leaders told to keep data breaches confidential

According to data from Atlas VPN, more than 50% of businesses admitted to experiencing a data breach in the last 12 months, and 42% of IT leaders have been told to keep a data breach confidential.

According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, 42% of IT leaders have been told to keep a data breach confidential. Nearly 30% of IT professionals had kept data breach a secret when they knew it should be reported.

When looking at the results by country, US businesses were the least responsible when dealing with data breaches. Data breaches can seriously threaten businesses, resulting in significant financial losses, legal ramifications, and reputational damage.

Companies in Germany were the most responsible when dealing with data breaches, says Atlas VPN. Of the IT leaders surveyed, 35% were advised to maintain confidentiality regarding a data breach, but only 15% kept it quiet. Furthermore, 54% neither were told nor kept a breach confidential.

In UK businesses, 44% of IT professionals were suggested to stay silent about a data breach, and 36% did.

French IT leaders were the least likely to be told to keep a data breach confidential, as only a quarter encountered such an experience. Meanwhile, 37% of IT managers working for companies in Italy were advised to stay quiet about a data breach. The same was recommended to 35% of professionals in Spain.

“In an age where data breaches have become a grim reality, such practice undermines the fundamental principles of transparency, accountability, and proactive risk mitigation,” stated Cybersecurity Writer at Atlas VPN, Vilius Kardelis.

“Organisations must recognise that concealing data breaches erodes customers’ trust and hinders the collective effort required to combat cyber threats,” he said.

To stay ahead in the face of technological advancements, suggests Atlas VPN, businesses must recognise the gravity of the situation and adjust their security measures accordingly.

Overall 52% of companies have experienced a data breach in the last 12 months. However, the country statistics revealed that organisations in the US was particularly prone to data breaches.

About 3 out of 4 IT leaders in the US admitted that their company suffered a data breach in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, 51% of businesses in the UK experienced a data breach in the last year. IT leaders working in Germany and Italy disclosed that nearly 50% of their businesses suffered a data incident. Data breaches also affected 44% of companies in Spain, while French businesses were the least likely to suffer such incidents, with only 42% experiencing data thefts.