exfiltrate

verb

ex·​fil·​trate eks-ˈfil-ˌtrāt 

ˈeks-(ˌ)fil-

exfiltrated; exfiltrating

transitive verb

1

: to remove (someone) furtively from a hostile area

Kublinski avoided detection. He was exfiltrated from Poland, with his family, only after being compromised by a leak from the U.S. government.

—Radek Sikorski

2

: to steal (sensitive data) from a computer (as with a flash drive)

intransitive verb

: to escape from a hostile area

exfiltration

ˌeks-(ˌ)fil-ˈtrā-shən 

noun

Examples of exfiltrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The attackers deployed ransomware to disrupt operations and exfiltrated vast amounts of sensitive data. —Lars Daniel, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Certainly, creating a phishing page is vastly easier than coding a Trojan that can actively steal those passwords and exfiltrate them, all while dodging discovery by antivirus programs. —PCMAG, 22 Oct. 2024

This trust boundary violation allows attackers to pivot within the boundary to access other applications, compromise services and/or exfiltrate data. —Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024

Phishing continues to be the primary strategy for cybercriminals to trick users into divulging their credentials, inject malware into your infrastructure, hijack user devices, remotely access network resources and exfiltrate sensitive data. —Ken Carnesi, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from exfiltration, from ex- entry 1 + (in)filtration

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1