exfiltrate

verb

ex·​fil·​trate eks-ˈfil-ˌtrāt 

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

ˌeks-(ˌ)fil-ˈtrā-shən 

noun

Examples of exfiltrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In this case, the goal wasn’t necessarily to exfiltrate data or frontier models, but to get an idea of how leaders in the field are discussing developments in AI, how they may (or may not) be regulated by authorities, and more. — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026

Earlier this week, researchers outlined an attack that used a secret input provided by Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprise to cause the AI assistant to exfiltrate a password present in the user’s inbox. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2026

In June 2025, a zero-click prompt injection in Microsoft 365 Copilot allowed a single attacker to exfiltrate data from OneDrive and Teams. — Israel Duanis, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Officials also fear that Chinese models could contain hidden security backdoors that could be used to essentially exfiltrate information from unsuspecting users. — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 29 July 2026

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

Rhymes for exfiltrate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate