cyberattack

Word family

• cyber
  adjectiveB2
• attack
  nounB1
• attacker
  nounB2
• cybercrime
  nounB2
• cybersecurity
  nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Cyberattack' is the widest of these terms. It can cover breaking into a network, shutting a service down, changing files, or stealing information. 'Hack' is more informal and often points to the act of getting into a system, especially in news reports or everyday speech. 'Data breach' is narrower: it matters most when private information is exposed or stolen, even if the attack itself was brief. 'Malware attack' is narrower in a different way, because it tells you the attacker used harmful software such as ransomware or a virus. A company may suffer a cyberattack that becomes a data breach, but not every cyberattack leads to leaked data.

Common collocations

Etymology

A modern compound built from cyber-, a form linked to cybernetics and later to computers and the internet, plus attack. The word became common as governments, businesses, and journalists needed a short label for hostile actions carried out through digital systems rather than with physical force.