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

Managing Crises, Then And Now In the past, crisis leadership was primarily focused on internal emergencies, such as cyberattacks against the company, reputational crises or scandals, sudden financial upheavals within the company, or even kidnapping or hostage situations during business travel. —Dahlia Mihyar, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025

All of those operations can be affected when there is a cyberattack that interferes with internet communications. —Mars King, Twin Cities, 4 Aug. 2025

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed responsibility in 2023 for a cyberattack on the Russian government civil aviation agency Rosaviatsiya. —Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 28 July 2025

Russia’s national airline Aeroflot was forced to cancel more than 40 flights Monday after being hit with a cyberattack carried out by a pro-Ukrainian group, reports said. —Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 28 July 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