TERM

passive attack

An actual assault perpetrated by an intentional threat source that attempts to learn or make use of information from a system, but does not attempt to alter the system, its resources, its data, or its operations.

Updated

Jan 06, 2026

Senses

Sense 1

An actual assault perpetrated by an intentional threat source that attempts to learn or make use of information from a system, but does not attempt to alter the system, its resources, its data, or its operations.

NICCS (CISA) Cybersecurity Vocabulary

Bibliography

NICCS (CISA) Cybersecurity Vocabulary
Accessed Jan 06, 2026Quoted
NICCS glossary export (CSV)
https://niccs.cisa.gov/rest/vocab/export-csv
NICCS is a CISA (DHS) program. Individual glossary entries include a "From" attribution (e.g., CNSSI 4009, NIST SPs, NICE Framework). Treat "From" values as upstream provenance and verify before quoting large portions of text.
Source: NICCS (CISA) Cybersecurity Vocabulary (niccs.cisa.gov).