First the good news.

Fewer companies are Reporting financial loss from data breaches and the amount of money being lost is declining, according to the 2006 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey.

But at the same time, most companies are reluctant to report security breaches which means the survey is only reflecting only so much.

For example, the percentage of organisations reporting computer intrusions to law enforcement agencies is 25 per cent. That's an improvement on last year (20 per cent) but you gotta admit, one in four is a problem.

The average loss per respondent was down nearly 18 per cent to $167,713, but that was partly because of a decline in reported incidents.

The main reason given for not reporting was negative publicity. Giving competitors a free kick was cited as another reason.