cyberattack
/ˈsaɪ.bə.ɹəˌtæk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.32 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An attack or intrusion by means of a computer network such as the Internet, often for the purpose of spying.
Countable; Uncountable
verb
To launch a cyberattack.
Example Sentences
- "He also points out that if the US does come under cyberattack, we may be powerless to stop the attack."
- "In the months before Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's arrival in Beijing on Monday, the Obama administration quietly held an extraordinary briefing for the Chinese military leadership on a subject officials have rarely discussed in public: The Pentagon's emerging doctrine for defending against cyberattacks against the United States – and for using its cybertechnology against adversaries, including the Chinese."
- "In recent months, cyberattacks have also crippled police departments in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, as well as hospitals treating coronavirus patients in intrusions that involved criminal groups holding data hostage and seeking payments to unlock the data."
- "A study by security company Riptech found that in the six months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, energy companies were cyberattacked at twice the rate of other industries surveyed."
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō) Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Hellenic *-tis Ancient Greek -τῐς (-tĭs) Ancient Greek -σῐς (-sĭs) Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Hellenic *-kos Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Hellenic *-tós Ancient Greek -τος (-tos) ▲ Ancient Greek -κός (-kós) ? Ancient Greek -τῐκός (-tĭkós) Ancient Greek κυβερνητικός (kubernētikós)bor. English cybernetic English cyber- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Italian a- Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des- Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- Proto-Germanic *stikaną Proto-West Germanic *stekander. Old French atachier Old French destachier Middle French destacherbor. Italian distaccare Italian staccare Italian attaccarebor. French attaquerdeverb. French attaquebor. English attack English cyberattack From cyber- + attack.