cyberattack

noun

cy·​ber·​at·​tack ˈsī-bər-ə-ˌtak 

plural cyberattacks

: an attempt to gain illegal access to a computer or computer system for the purpose of causing damage or harm

An undermine-first strategy allows the United States government to intrude into adversaries' systems, exploiting this covert access to gather intelligence and occasionally to deliver a destructive cyberattack.

—Joshua A. Kroll

If your data is valuable enough, there is almost nothing you can do to provide total security against an expert adversary. Simply put, the attacker may be smarter than anyone you have defending the network. Cyberattacks are not only impossible to block, they're often difficult to detect; you may not even know you're under attack in the first place.

—Robert W. Lucky

cyberattacker

ˈsī-bər-ə-ˌta-kər 

noun

plural cyberattackers

Cyberattackers constantly evolve their skills and will always find new ways to attack—it's not a question of "if," but of "when."

—Eileen Dignen

Examples of cyberattack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As personal and business data move online, the risk of cyberattacks grows exponentially. —Trent Hoerr, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025

Dark Storm Team claims to have targeted X with a cyberattack. —Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025

Elon Musk says IP address from cyberattack came from Ukraine During an interview on Fox Business Network on Monday afternoon, Musk told host Larry Kudlow that the IP addresses from the cyberattack on X originated in Ukraine. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 10 Mar. 2025

In August 2024, Musk blamed a cyberattack for crashing X on the day he was scheduled to stream an interview with then-former President Donald Trump. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cyberattack

• ammoniac
• biofeedback
• counterattack
• demoniac
• elegiac
• noncardiac
• paranoiac
• aback
• anzac
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack