5 observations from an expert on what may be 'the most consequential cyberattack against the US to date'

US officials now widely believe that Russian state-sponsored hackers are responsible for what's being called the Sunburst attack against numerous important US businesses and government agencies.

The immediate effects will be difficult to judge, and a complete accounting of the damage is unlikely, but here are five observations that cybersecurity experts can make so far.

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So much remains unknown about what is now being called the Sunburst hack, the cyberattack against US government agencies and corporations. US officials widely believe that Russian state-sponsored hackers are responsible.

The attack gave the perpetrators access to numerous key American business and government organizations. The immediate effects will be difficult to judge, and a complete accounting of the damage is unlikely. However, the nature of the affected organizations alone makes it clear that this is perhaps the most consequential cyberattack against the US to date.

An act of cyberwar is usually not like a bomb, which causes immediate, well-understood damage. Rather, it is more like a cancer – it's slow to detect, difficult to eradicate, and it causes ongoing and significant damage over a long period of time.

Here are five points that cybersecurity experts — the oncologists in the cancer analogy — can make with what's known so far.

1. The victims were tough nuts to crack

FireEye executives after the company's debut on the Nasdaq exchange in New York, September 20, 2013.REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

From top-tier cybersecurity firm FireEye to the US Treasury, Microsoft, Intel and many other organizations, the victims of the attack ..

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