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threat actor

noun

Etymology

Likely US Government jargon, derived from actor (“one that takes part in an action”). First attested in 2000.

Definitions

  1. A person or entity that conducts malicious activities against digital targets,…

    A person or entity that conducts malicious activities against digital targets, particularly cyberattacks.

    • Threat actors have repeatedly attempted to breach our systems, without success.
    • A pure threat actor is less complex in capabilities and intent than a mixed type. The most complex actor would possess “the highest and most encompassing” capabilities and intent and compromise a threat kingdom of potential strategies.
    • As noted above, multiple threat actor groups are actively working to expand and improve the DDoS attack capabilities of Mirai-variant botnets.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for threat actor. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA