Regulatory compliance has historically been a concern of only a company's legal and finance departments. However, as e-commerce continues to dominate retail both in the United States and abroad, regulatory compliance is now a major area of concern for IT managers, everyone on executive teams, and entire boards of directors.

Amid a recoiling global marketplace and bigger and more costly cyberattacks, the nexus of "what can our networks do" versus "what are our networks allowed to do" is ever more complex. New privacy regulations coming from some of the closest allies of the United States are increasing the need for all companies doing business online to understand and abide by regulations that are in constant flux.

On top of these concerns, the U.S. government itself is in a rocky place with domestic politics threatening to stand in the way of business as usual for American companies. How will CEOs navigate this minefield centered around Internet freedom? It will require boardrooms and network managers to focus in partnership on meeting new privacy mandates while also keeping networks safe from cyberattacks and data theft.