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Glite Dictionary
🕵️ Illegal entry 💻 Unauthorized access
break-in

break-in

1 4.5
Illegal access to a computer system to steal or damage data
  • noun
  • /ˈbreɪkˌɪn/
translation icon : intrusión
  • The CIA Black Vault break-in.
  • a computer break-in

Examples

  • The police reported that there was a suspicious break-in at the local bank last night.

  • Like any other crime, a computer break-in will create a trail of evidence.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Unless we see a few century breaks in the next few days, based on recent previous years' patterns, we cannot expect that the decrease for the rest of the season will be much over a million sq km.

    Blog text (5)

  • What's more, because such hackers can disguise themselves as authorized users, break-ins are usually hard to detect.

    Academic text (2002)

  • As I contemplated the break-in at ERF and how someone might have accomplished this, several thoughts drifted through my mind.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Well understood, that was, at the Inter-Agency Computer Network Security Forum, the federal crisis-management organization that strove valiantly, if with mixed success, "to stem the rising tide of computer break-ins."

    Fiction book (2002)

  • After the recent break-in, the company strengthened its cybersecurity measures to prevent future incidents.

  • Following the break-in, the IT department worked hard to secure all systems and safeguard sensitive information.

Synonyms

breach
vsbreak-in
  • Specialized
96 5.8

An incident when private information is accessed or shared without permission

is about unauthorized entry to systems rather than mainly data exposure
intrusion
vsbreak-in
85 6.6

Entering a place or someone's private life without permission

is limited to unauthorized entry to computer systems and networks
compromise
vsbreak-in
  • Specialized
11 6.5

An incident where a computer system or account is accessed without permission

is focused on the access event itself rather than on resulting data effects
cyberattack
vsbreak-in
  • Specialized
10 4.4

An attack on computer systems that damages them or steals information

is specifically the actual unauthorized entry, not the wider damaging attempt
hacking
vsbreak-in
  • Texting
2 4.2

Gaining unauthorized access to computer systems to steal or damage data

is the incident of such access rather than the method itself

How Serious

breach
  • Specialized
96 5.8
break-in
1 4.5
compromise
  • Specialized
11 6.5

Surface Forms

break-in singular
break-ins plural

Morphology

break-in = break + in (semi-transparent) = break + in

The cyber sense extends the physical idea of forced entry to systems and networks, so the connection is clear but somewhat specialized.

Etymology

Break-in also describes attacks on computers by the same idea: break + in — forcing your way 'to get inside' a locked system. So a digital break-in is getting into a computer or network without permission.