Even after a year that saw major security breaches at the country's top companies, most corporate boards across the nation continue to neglect or discount the importance of cybersecurity, a new report by the Carnegie Mellon CyLab has found.

The governance report by three CyLab researchers was presented at Tuesday's Bloomberg Boards and Risk Briefing in Washington, D.C.

Researchers asked executives from Fortune 1,000 companies to name their three top priorities; not one named "improving computer and data security." The top spot went to "improving risk management."

A sweeping majority of respondents also said their company boards were not "actively addressing" information technology operations nor were they reviewing their insurance protection policies for coverage of cybersecurity risks.

However, the researchers cite areas of progress, with 75 percent of those surveyed ranking information technology experience as important when recruiting directors. Communication within companies about cyber-risks also saw an uptick, with 65 percent indicating an in-house group that manages privacy and security issues. That's up from 17 percent in 2008.

CyLab recommends each board create a risk committee to address information technology concerns -- something only 14 percent of respondents currently do.

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