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

There are risks with all forms of custody such as cyberattacks that lead to theft of assets. —Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2025

The Australian Airline Qantas said on Sunday that the personal data of its customers had leaked online after being stolen in a cyberattack. —Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025

If Max goes down because an update is buggy, servers break, or someone launches a cyberattack, the app could be offline for some period—in this case, potentially halting millions of bank payments, messages, and identity-verification attempts through the app. —Justin Sherman, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2025

Since these chargers connect to power grids and payment systems, a cyberattack could shut down networks, disrupt electricity supply, or even steal user data. —Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 10 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