•  
 
 

Tech glossary

Defining IT & technology terms

Cyberattack

Cyberattacks are malicious assaults on digital assets that seek to steal, destroy, alter or disable data and information systems. Motives for these attacks can vary, but they are commonly associated with criminal, political and personal reasons. Other cyberattack motivations include spying to gain an unfair competitive advantage or stealing intellectual property.

A cyberattack can be classified as an outsider or insider threat. Outsider threats are external and include organized criminals, professional hackers and amateur hackers. Insider threats stem from authorized users with legitimate access to a company’s assets who then abuse that access deliberately or accidentally. These threats include employee carelessness with policy and procedures, dissatisfied current or former employees and business partners, clients, contractors or suppliers with access to a company’s system.

Organizations in any sector and of any size can fall victim to a cyberattack, which has made it important to understand modern cybersecurity trends.

Learn more about cyberattacks

Related terms

  • Cyber defense
  • Cybersecurity mesh
  • IT governance
  • Zero Trust security
  • Cloud governance

Featured content for cyberattacks

Article CipherTrust Data Security Platform Image

Datasheet CipherTrust Data Security Platform

Article 3 Real-World Challenges Facing Cybersecurity Organizations Image

Whitepaper 3 Real-World Challenges Facing Cybersecurity Organizations

Article How Secure Is Your Data in Motion? Image

Infographic How Secure Is Your Data in Motion?

Article Email Security Statistics You Need To Know  Image

Infographic Email Security Statistics You Need To Know

Narrow your topic:

Cybersecurity  View all focus areas