You got two thumbs down for this. Maybe it is not the right term.
Bad joke: Spitting on a computer/smartphone is not a cyber attack.
I looked at the second wave on May 16: They follow a pattern - Three different accounts perform an innocuous edit somewhere in Eastern Europe, 22:06, 22:09, 22:13. At 22:34 all three accounts at once start vandal edits spanning the whole globe.
The ingredients for a so-called cyber attack look given. A concerted effort by an abusive party. Why is the term not liked? I confess, I do not like it either.
Maybe there is one ingredient missing – When a disgruntled employee takes down the company network, is that a cyberattack?
When a self-righteous user vandalizes openstreetmap? Would that be different from when a troll factory vandalizes openstreetmap?
I guess you said it even more concise, the missing ingredient, why cyberattack is not the right term:
All that said: The means to defend may be the same after all. The only choice is limiting the front door.