exfiltrate
verb
ex·fil·trate
eks-ˈfil-ˌtrāt 
ˈeks-(ˌ)fil-
exfiltrated; exfiltrating
1
: to remove (someone) furtively from a hostile area
Kublinski avoided detection. He was exfiltrated from Poland, with his family, only after being compromised by a leak from the U.S. government.—
Radek Sikorski
Radek Sikorski2
: to steal (sensitive data) from a computer (as with a flash drive)
: to escape from a hostile area
Examples of exfiltrate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
By reconfiguring these systems, attackers exfiltrated data without detection for months, demonstrating a deep understanding of their targets.
—Milind Gunjan, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Chang, who called the development of nuclear weapons nonsense, was exfiltrated by the CIA to the U.S. with his family in 1988 before Washington sent a team to Taiwan to dismantle a facility that was designed to extract nuclear materials for weapons production.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
In any event, the attacker had now gained persistent, privileged access to the network and was in a position to exfiltrate sensitive data from it.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2025
Yes, but: Legal and congressional processes are slow — Musk's team may be able to exfiltrate data or deploy code before any real consequences materialize.
—Sam Sabin, Axios, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exfiltrate
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Milind Gunjan, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Chang, who called the development of nuclear weapons nonsense, was exfiltrated by the CIA to the U.S. with his family in 1988 before Washington sent a team to Taiwan to dismantle a facility that was designed to extract nuclear materials for weapons production.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
In any event, the attacker had now gained persistent, privileged access to the network and was in a position to exfiltrate sensitive data from it.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2025
Yes, but: Legal and congressional processes are slow — Musk's team may be able to exfiltrate data or deploy code before any real consequences materialize.
—Sam Sabin, Axios, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exfiltrate
Cite this Entry
“Exfiltrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exfiltrate. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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