DDoS Attack

A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is a type of cyber attack in which a server, network, or website is overloaded with excessive traffic, making it unavailable to users. It is a very serious and common type of attack in the field of cybersecurity, aimed at disrupting the services of a website or network.

The goal of a DDoS attack is to send such a large volume of fake traffic to a service that it becomes overloaded and legitimate users cannot access it. This traffic is sent not from a single source, but from various computers and devices (often called a botnet).

The attack involves building a botnet of infected "zombie" computers, initiating the attack by instructing the botnet to flood the target with traffic, overloading the server, and causing a temporary shutdown of the service.

Volumetric Attacks: Overload network bandwidth (e.g., UDP flood).

Protocol Attacks: Exploit weaknesses in network protocols to overwhelm the system (e.g., SYN flood).

Application Layer Attacks: Target services and software on a web application (e.g., HTTP flood).

Reasons: Hacktivism, business competition, ransom, or personal enmity.

Impact: Financial loss, damage to brand reputation, and security risks.

Prevention: Expanding network bandwidth, using a Content Delivery Network (CDN), a Web Application Firewall (WAF), anti-DDoS services, rate limiting, and filtering/blocking malicious traffic.