küberrünnaku

Küberrünnaku is the Estonian noun küberrünnak (cyberattack) in the genitive singular form. It is used in formal, legal or technical text to refer to a cyberattack in a possessive or descriptive sense, for example "küberrünnaku toimepanemine" (the execution of a cyberattack). In everyday language, the base form küberrünnak is more common, while küberrünnaku appears in phrases that require a dependent noun.

A küberrünnaku refers to any unauthorized intrusion into computer systems, networks or data with the aim of damage, theft, disruption, or influence. Actors range from criminal groups to state-backed entities; motives include data exfiltration, financial gain, disruption of services or espionage. Typical methods include malware and ransomware deployments, phishing campaigns, DDoS, and supply-chain compromises.

Impact and response: Effects can include financial loss, operational downtime, reputational damage and privacy breaches. National and international response involves incident response, forensic investigation, threat intelligence sharing, and legal actions. Estonia maintains a national cybersecurity framework led by CERT-EE and law enforcement, emphasizing public-private cooperation and international information sharing.

Notable incidents: While the term is generic, major cyberattacks worldwide—such as WannaCry, NotPetya and the SolarWinds incident—illustrate the kinds of küberrünnaku that influence policy and security practice. Prevention emphasizes regular software updates, robust access controls, backups, anomaly detection, and employee awareness.