malware

noun

malware

noun

UK /ˈmæl.wɛː/ · US /ˈmæl.wɛəɹ/

Etymology From mal- + -ware.

1

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Usually Software which has been designed to operate in a malicious, undesirable manner.

  • In a follow-up attack that hit Kyiv’s power grid a year later, the suspects used a second piece of malware, called Industroyer, to cut power for an hour, the indictment said. The malware, according to experts, posed one of the greatest digital threats to critical infrastructure since Stuxnet, the computer attack by the United States and Israel that took out Iran’s uranium centrifuges in 2009.2020 October 19, “U.S. Charges Russian Intelligence Officers in Major Cyberattacks”, in New York Times:
Derived terms
antimalware, bossware
Related terms
backdoor, exploit, URL injection, wabbit, -ware
Hypernyms
software
Hyponyms
26 termsadware, backdoor, botnet, browser hijacker, chargeware, crimeware, cryptoransomware, cryptovirus, cryptoworm, dialer, dialler, fraudtool, key logger, ransomware, rootkit, scareware, shock site, spyware, stealware, tarbomb, trojan, Trojan horse, virus, worm, XML bomb, zip bomb

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.