Malicious (News Words)

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Welcome to the Voice of America’s News Words.

The United States and some allies have accused China of working with cyber criminals to carry out major computer attacks.

Malicious

In March, a malicious cyber-attack targeted Microsoft Exchange servers affecting U.S. government agencies and 30,000 organizations worldwide. China has rejected the accusations.

Malicious describes a desire to cause harm. Malicious software is called malware. Such programs can steal and destroy computer data. Malware can also add unwanted software to devices.

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*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.