NEW YORK, May 14 (Reuters) - Manhattan's top federal prosecutor said defense attorneys have a vital part to play in the fight against cyber crime: to convince clients who have been hacked to promptly notify law enforcement.

On Monday, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took a version of his cyber crime stump speech to the New York City Bar Association, tailoring his message about the threat of hacking to white collar defense attorneys.

The "white collar bar can facilitate better than most" a dialogue between law enforcement authorities and companies that have been breached, but are reluctant to immediately tell law enforcement.

"Delays in disclosure make it harder, much harder to catch the bad guys," Bharara said. "That is what institutions routinely do now, they wait and wait and such delay can be disastrous."

Cyber security experts say that corporations rarely acknowledge breaches, and often keep them secret from law enforcement out of fear that news of a compromise will damage their reputation, hurt stock prices and possibly lead to further attacks.

Attorneys should advise clients that prosecutors investigating a breach will do their utmost to protect company secrets, Bharara said. "That represents a unique opportunity for members of the White collar bar to breach the divide."

"When necessary we will seek protective orders, orders signed by a federal judge, that help to preserve trade secrets and business confidentialy," Bharara said.

(Reporting By Basil Katz)

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