DDoS
What is a DDoS attack?
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a coordinated attack in which a large number of infected or controlled devices simultaneously direct enormous amounts of traffic to a target system—e.g., a server, website, or entire network.
This artificially generated overload severely restricts the functionality of the systems or completely paralyzes them. The aim of such an attack is to disrupt services, interrupt digital processes, or put pressure on a company—often to gain an economic or strategic advantage.
Real-world example
A new fast food restaurant has opened in a city, but there is already a fast food restaurant in the city. To remain the market leader in the city, the older restaurant sends 500 people to the new restaurant at the same time. The 500 people also order items that are not available at the new restaurant, so the restaurant is overwhelmed and unable to serve its actual customers. A DDoS attack works on the same principle.
How can you protect yourself against this?
- Special systems: Special software is available to detect DDoS attacks at an early stage.
- Firewall: A firewall monitors data traffic and detects threats at an early stage.
- Server: Data traffic should be distributed across multiple servers and locations simultaneously to ensure balanced distribution during periods of high load.
Example of an attack
Imagine a new store opens in your city and someone wants to prevent it from attracting customers. This person organizes a group of 1,000 people to call the store at the same time and ask about unimportant things. The store’s phone lines are suddenly overloaded, and real customers can no longer get through to ask important questions or place orders.
This is exactly how a DDoS attack works on the internet. Many computers (bots) send requests to a website or server at the same time. This overload causes the server to crash or become extremely slow, preventing real users from accessing the website. Hackers use this method to disrupt operations and cause damage.
