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

Anthropic's powerful Mythos model, announced in April, sent governments and businesses into a frenzy, prompting a wave of concerns about AI-powered cyberattacks. —Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 29 May 2026

Together, these incidents signal the increasing frequency of cyberattacks. —Tarika Barrett, Fortune, 29 May 2026

The opening moves could involve cyberattacks, electronic warfare and elite special operations teams targeting key figures or command sites before much of the island’s military could respond. —Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 28 May 2026

The head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, Richard Horne, warned last month that hostile states including Russia, China and Iran are behind the most serious cyberattacks the country faces. —CNN Money, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1996, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cyberattack

• ammoniac
• biofeedback
• counterattack
• demoniac
• elegiac
• noncardiac
• paranoiac
• aback
• attack
• backpack
• backtrack
• bareback