CISOs Face Legal Risks From Pressure to Conceal Security Incidents

John Leyden reports in CSO Online that Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are increasingly being asked to remain silent about cyber incidents.

A new survey from Bitdefender shows that nearly 70 percent of CISOs have been told to keep breaches confidential, a marked rise from two years ago.

This trend exposes security leaders to conflicts between professional integrity and corporate directives, with corporate reputation often prioritized over regulatory compliance.

The pressure is occurring against a backdrop of evolving attack methods and stricter disclosure obligations.

Cybercriminals are shifting away from disruptive ransomware toward data theft that is designed to remain undetected. Regulatory regimes such as GDPR, DORA, and NIS2 impose explicit reporting duties.

Some CISOs report being instructed to omit or mischaracterize incidents in disclosures and regulatory filings. This has clear liability and compliance implications. Accounts from current and former CISOs illustrate the severity of the issue.

Some described instructions to conceal data theft, misconfigured access abuses, and multimillion-dollar frauds from boards and regulators. Others left positions after being told to downplay risks in SEC filings or suppress evidence of security failures.

In some cases, bribery and conflicts of interest compounded the lack of transparency.

While such practices may reduce short-term reputational damage, they heighten long-term legal and operational risks.

The legal implications are significant. Regulatory authorities may treat silence as evidence of systemic noncompliance, exposing both organizations and individuals to penalties, lawsuits, and even criminal charges.

For companies, adopting incident response frameworks that insulate disclosure decisions from commercial pressures is critical. For CISOs, maintaining transparency and adhering to professional standards is crucial in mitigating career, legal, and ethical consequences.