exfiltrate

verb

ex·​fil·​trate eks-ˈfil-ˌtrāt How to pronounce exfiltrate (audio)
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 noun

Examples of exfiltrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Cybercriminals and nation-states may seize this opportunity to exfiltrate valuable corporate information, intellectual property or customer data. Denis Mandich, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 But while Uss was awaiting extradition to the United States, he was exfiltrated from Italy with the help of a Serbian criminal gang and returned to Russia. Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 27 Dec. 2023 The files, which were from April 2019 through 2020, were exfiltrated from Rightway’s IT environment. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 2 Nov. 2023 This January, on a trip to Gonaïves in northern Haiti, Henry had to be exfiltrated from a shootout between his security guards and gunmen. Monique Clesca, Foreign Affairs, 1 Feb. 2022 In December 2022, the profile data and email addresses of 200 million Twitter users were exfiltrated by hackers. Shay Levi, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023 After all, a bridge controller performs the encryption and decryption using that secret key, and so could either secretly exfiltrate and store it or furtively encrypt the data with its own, different key. WIRED, 15 June 2023 Ransomware extortion payments are a good example, where hackers encrypt and exfiltrate data to ensure victimized companies pay the ransom. Yuen Pin Yeap, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023 As long as the data is not exfiltrated and doesn’t leave the city’s system, the city could possibly avoid a lawsuit, Yarbrough said. Everton Bailey Jr., Dallas News, 25 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exfiltrate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of exfiltrate was in 1947

Dictionary Entries Near exfiltrate

Cite this Entry

“Exfiltrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exfiltrate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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