What is the term called distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack? Is it a threat to cyber security?

How DDoS Attacks Work

• Botnet Creation: Attackers infect multiple devices (computers, IoT devices, etc. ) with malware to form a botnet (network of compromised devices).
• Command & control: the attacker commands the botnet to execute an attack
• Traffic overload: the botnet floods the target system with so many requests that it uses all of its bandwidth, CPU, or memory
• Service disruption: the server is slow, crashes or becomes entirely unavailable to legitimate users

Types of DDoS Attacks

1. Volume-Based Attacks – Consume bandwidth to overwhelm the target.

• UDP Flood: Sends massive UDP packets to overload the system.
• ICMP Flood (Ping Flood): Floods the target with ICMP (ping) requests.
• DNS Amplification: Amplifies traffic toward the victim via open DNS resolvers.

2. Protocol Attacks - Exhaust server resources by exploiting weaknesses in network protocols.

• SYN Flood: Sends a lot of SYN (connection request) packets but does not complete the handshake.
• ACK Flood: Overloads the target with acknowledgment packets.
• Ping of Death: Sends large or badly formed packets to crash a system.

3. Application Layer Attacks – Target specific applications and services.

• HTTP Flood: Floods a web server with forged HTTP requests.
• Slowloris Attack - Opens many connections to a server but sends data slowly to consume resources

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Impact of DDoS Attacks

• Website Downtime: Prevents users from accessing services.
• Financial Loss: Businesses suffer revenue loss due to unavailability.
• Reputation Damage: Customers lose trust in affected services.
• Legal Consequences – if user data is exposed or compliance policies are broken.

DDoS Attack preventive measures

• To filter malicious traffic at your workspace, u se a Web Application Firewall (WAF
• Utilize Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to distribute traffic load.
• Monitor Traffic Patterns to detect and block abnormal spikes.
• Employ DDoS Protection Services (Cloudflare, AWS Shield, Akamai, etc.).