What Is a DDoS Attack? Everything You Need to Know

What Is a DDoS Attack?

A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack attempts to overwhelm a server, application, or network by flooding it with massive amounts of traffic.

Instead of attacking from a single computer, DDoS attacks use thousands of compromised devices known as botnets.

How It Works

Attackers control infected devices that simultaneously send requests to the target server.

Eventually, legitimate users can no longer access the service.

Types of DDoS Attacks

• Volumetric attacks
• Protocol attacks
• Application-layer attacks

Protection Strategies

Organizations often deploy:

• Firewalls
• Web Application Firewalls (WAF)
• Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
• Rate limiting
• Traffic filtering

Conclusion

Although DDoS attacks cannot always be prevented, proper infrastructure and monitoring significantly reduce their impact.