What is DDoS?

A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack is when many computers flood a website or online service with so much traffic that it can’t respond to legitimate users, effectively taking it offline.

Let's break it down

  • Distributed: The attack comes from many different computers, not just one.
  • Denial-of-Service: The goal is to deny normal users access to the service.
  • Attack: It’s a deliberate, malicious action.
  • Traffic: Data packets, requests, or messages sent over the internet.
  • Flood: Overwhelming amount that exceeds what the target can handle.

Why does it matter?

If a website you rely on (banking, shopping, news, etc.) goes down because of a DDoS attack, you can’t use it, lose money, miss important information, or suffer damage to the business’s reputation.

Where is it used?

  • Online gaming servers: Attackers overload game servers to disrupt play for other gamers.
  • E-commerce sites: Competitors or extortionists may target stores during big sales to cause loss of sales.
  • Political or activist websites: Groups may try to silence opposing voices by making their sites inaccessible.
  • Corporate APIs: Hackers can cripple a company’s internal services, causing operational chaos.

Good things about it

  • Awareness tool: Simulated DDoS tests help companies discover weak points and improve defenses.
  • Research catalyst: Studying attacks drives the development of stronger network security technologies.
  • Deterrence: Knowing a service can withstand large traffic spikes can discourage attackers.
  • Load-balancing improvements: Preparing for DDoS often leads to better traffic distribution systems.
  • Redundancy planning: Encourages businesses to set up backup servers and failover mechanisms.

Not-so-good things

  • Service disruption: Legitimate users lose access, causing frustration and potential financial loss.
  • High mitigation cost: Protecting against DDoS often requires expensive hardware, services, or bandwidth.
  • Collateral damage: Sometimes innocent devices become part of the attack botnet without their owners’ knowledge.
  • Legal and ethical issues: Launching or even testing DDoS attacks without permission can lead to criminal charges.