UK organizations are grappling with a silent cybersecurity threat — employees choosing not to report suspected cyberattacks out of fear, according to new research by data security firm Cohesity.
In a survey involving 4,500 EMEA office workers, Cohesity found that 39% of UK employees would avoid reporting a cyber incident, not due to ignorance, but fear of being blamed or reprimanded. This comes despite the fact that UK employees demonstrated greater cybersecurity awareness than peers in France and Germany, with 43% correctly identifying ransomware and 79% confident in spotting malicious activity.
“This culture of silence is one of the most dangerous responses to a cyber threat,” said Olivier Savornin, GVP Europe at Cohesity. “Employees claim to understand the risks but hesitate to act, leaving their organizations dangerously exposed.”
The reasons behind this hush culture are concerning. Seventeen percent fear being blamed, while an equal number worry about getting into trouble. Alarmingly, 11% of workers said they would rather fix the issue themselves than notify their cybersecurity team, risking further damage.
Savornin emphasized the urgent need for businesses to build a culture of trust, where employees feel safe reporting cyber issues without fear of repercussions. “Creating a safe reporting environment and offering clear guidance on how to handle threats is essential,” he said.
The problem isn’t isolated. An earlier report by IT.ie revealed that 43% of workers felt they might cause a security breach in the next year, largely due to poor training or lack of communication from management. Similarly, Arctic Wolf’s 2024 Human Risk Behavior Snapshot noted that a quarter of employees were too afraid to report security concerns.
Worryingly, this fear may be justified. Egress research found that over half of employees who fell for phishing attacks were punished, and 40% were even fired. In some companies, management has reportedly instructed IT teams to keep breaches under wraps. A Bitdefender survey of 400 cybersecurity professionals found that nearly half were asked to hide data breaches, and 30% chose not to report issues themselves.
Experts warn that this blame culture only worsens organizational risk. The call to action is clear: companies must replace fear with support, fostering transparency and building robust response systems before silence becomes the costliest mistake of all.
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News Source: ITPro.com
