cyber defense

noun

variants or less commonly cyberdefense

ˈsī-bər-di-ˌfen(t)s 

plural cyber defenses also cyberdefenses

1

: steps or measures taken to protect online resources (such as a computer network or database) against unauthorized access or attack : cybersecurity

… the cost of cyberattacks—from business disruption and lost data to system downtime, damage to your company's reputation and even legal liability—is higher than ever. Cyber defense needs to be a major component of your business strategy.

—Chron.com

Officials said that while traditionally cities and local governments took an independent approach to cyber defense and protecting technology, "acting alone is no longer optimal."

—Zak Failla

State lawmakers similarly have cyberdefense in focus, allocating approximately $18 million of a $64.1 billion supplemental budget package toward higher education cybersecurity training programs.

—Greg Mason

2

: the capability to resist cyberattacks

The behavior of employees is also critical for an organization's cyber defense since 82% of data breaches in 2021 involved a "human element."

—Parvinder Walia

3

cyber defenses also cyberdefenses plural : the software, hardware, etc. used to protect against cyberattacks

Biden issued an urgent warning to American business leaders yesterday, telling them to strengthen their companies' cyber defenses immediately.

—Alexandra Meeks

Ukraine has been deliberate about creating a volunteer force of hackers, offering rewards for those who can pinpoint flaws in Russian cyberdefenses.

—Cora Engelbrecht

Examples of cyber defense in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The brain has read every cybersecurity industry book that's been published, digested the company's more than 35 years of blogs and internal documents about cyber defense, and trained on its global threat research. —Sam Sabin, Axios, 17 Dec. 2024

To this point, 7 out of 10 business executives will deploy Gen AI tools for cyber defense within the next 12 months³ to offset an ongoing worker shortage. —John Chirillo, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

Today is also the deadline set by the US cyber defense agency to install that update on your phone. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024

The lab will bring together world-class industry, academic and government experts to assess the impact of AI on national security, and to develop artificial intelligence capable of providing cyber defense against threats. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1995, in the meaning defined at sense 1