What defines a DDoS attack?

A DDoS attack, which stands for Distributed Denial of Service, is characterized by a coordinated effort to overwhelm a target system with an excessive amount of traffic coming from multiple sources. This multitude of sources aims to exhaust the target’s resources—such as bandwidth, processing power, or memory—leading to a denial of service for legitimate users. By leveraging numerous compromised computers or devices, the attackers can amplify the volume of traffic directed at the target, making it difficult or impossible for that target to respond to legitimate requests.

Understanding the nature of DDoS attacks is essential because they can have serious repercussions for businesses and services. They can lead to significant downtime, loss of revenue, and damage to reputation as organizations struggle to fend off the attack. This distinguishes a DDoS attack from other forms of cyber incidents, such as those that employ a single source of attack, methods of data collection, or security techniques.