A cyberattack is deliberate exploitation of computer systems, technology-dependent enterprises and networks. Cyberattacks use malicious code to alter computer code, logic or data, resulting in disruptive consequences that can compromise data and lead to cybercrimes, such as information and identity theft.

Cyberattacks may include the following consequences:

• Identity theft, fraud, extortion
• Malware, pharming, phishing, spamming, spoofing, spyware, Trojans and viruses
• Stolen hardware, such as laptops or mobile devices
• Denial-of-service and distributed denial-of-service attacks
• Breach of access
• Password sniffing
• System infiltration
• Website defacement
• Private and public Web browser exploits
• Instant messaging abuse
• Intellectual property (IP) theft or unauthorized access.