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Internet Governance Glossary

4

4.29 Cyberattack

Internet misuse or cybercrime whereby Internet weaknesses are exploited for different types of attacks directed primarily against information and communication technology (ICT) hardware or software, or primarily aimed at harming people.

Note:

There are different types of cyberattacks (each with subtypes):

  • Passive and active attacks,
  • Denial-of-Service attacks,
  • Defacement attacks,
  • Malware attacks,
  • Cyber intrusion,
  • Spam and phishing,
  • Some communication protocols misuse,

…down to full-fledged cyberwar.