1.6.13

Denial of Service Attacks

Test yourself

Denial of Service Attacks

Denial of service attacks try to prevent a network from functioning by flooding it with useless traffic.

Illustrative background for Denial of service attacksIllustrative background for Denial of service attacks ?? "content

Denial of service attacks

  • A denial of service (DoS) attack tries to bring down a server by flooding it with many useless requests.
  • The attack aims to overload the server. This stops the server responding to legitimate requests.
Illustrative background for Protection against DoS attacksIllustrative background for Protection against DoS attacks ?? "content

Protection against DoS attacks

  • To protect against DoS attacks, a server's firewall can blacklist (ban) any traffic from an IP address which is known to perform DoS attacks.
  • Firewalls can also monitor traffic in real time. So if a new IP address starts to send too much traffic then traffic limits can be set.
Illustrative background for Distributed DoS attacksIllustrative background for Distributed DoS attacks ?? "content

Distributed DoS attacks

  • Distributed DoS (DDos) attacks are commonly used to overcome the blacklisting of an IP address because of a high number of requests.
  • In a DDoS attack, the requests are sent from an army of compromised machines, known as a botnet.
  • Botnet machines are infected with malware which allows a hacker to send requests from their computer.
  • The botnet can launch a huge number of simultaneous requests. The owners of the devices in the botnet might not even realise they are taking part.

Jump to other topics

1Computer Systems

1.1Data Representation

1.2Data Transmission

1.3Hardware

1.4Software

1.5The Internet & its Uses

1.6Cyber Security

1.7Automated & Emerging Technologies

2Algorithms, Programming & Logic

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium