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

European allies accuse Russia of waging a campaign of hybrid warfare against them, of which the disruptive airspace violations are a part, along with sabotage plots, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and more. —Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025

Rattenfänger is also planning a brutal cyberattack that will affect all of the Western world — leading Bond to team up with the remaining double agents and a handful of allies to stop the evil at hand. —Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025

In May 2021, one of the largest fuel pipeline systems in the United States was paralyzed when a cyberattack brought operations to an abrupt halt. —Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025

It also can't be stolen in cyberattacks. —Ray Dalio, Time, 30 Oct. 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