Although the attacks Sunday have garnered a lot of media attention, cybersecurity experts are eager to point out that these attacks require limited skill and don't necessarily threaten U.S. security, especially when compared to the attacks being carried out by nation-state hacking groups, like Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. election last year.
"If we were to be optimistic about 2014, we could say that boards will finally pay attention to cybersecurity risks," said Allan Friedman, a cybersecurity scholar at the Brookings Institution and George Washington University.
Internationally, industry regulators continued to increase their attention to cybersecurity.
As a new presidential administration takes over, it will need to pay significant attention to cybersecurity.
As financial risks grow, "Government and business are giving new attention to cybersecurity," he noted.
Beyond the SEC, cybersecurity has also drawn attention at other levels of governments.
A decade ago, very few policymakers and media outlets paid serious attention to cybersecurity.
With so much boardroom attention on cybersecurity, directors continue to focus on the Securities and Exchange Commission SECC) guidance issued earlier this year and its implications.
The first point explores how paying attention to cybersecurity up front will help you reduce costs, while the latter articulates your opportunities for increased revenue.
For others, the way in which safety is now taken so seriously by board members offered an example of what could be done to focus attention on cybersecurity.
Ransomware a family of computer malware spread by attackers with the goal of demanding a payoff from its victims, most often financial payment in the form of virtual currency such as Bitcoin was drawing increased attention from cybersecurity companies and government agencies in 2016.
