Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a network, service, or website by overwhelming it with a flood of internet traffic.

DDoS attacks typically involve multiple compromised devices or computers, known as a botnet, that flood a target with traffic from various sources. The sheer volume of incoming traffic overwhelms the target's servers, making the website or service inaccessible to legitimate users.

These attacks can be highly disruptive, causing significant financial loss, reputational damage, and even legal consequences for the targeted organization.

There are different types of DDoS attacks, including volumetric attacks, which aim to saturate the target's network bandwidth, and application layer attacks, which exploit vulnerabilities in specific services or applications. DDoS attacks can also combine multiple techniques to maximize their impact.

To mitigate the risk of DDoS attacks, organizations can implement various security measures, such as traffic filtering, load balancing, and using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to distribute traffic.