What are 'DDoS attacks'?

DDoS attacks, or Distributed Denial of Service attacks, are characterized by overwhelming a targeted network, service, or application with a flood of traffic from multiple sources. This tactic aims to disrupt the normal functioning of the targeted resource, making it inaccessible to legitimate users. The distributed nature of these attacks means that they can utilize numerous compromised devices, often part of a botnet, to generate a large volume of traffic, which effectively saturates the normal capacity of the server or network infrastructure being targeted.

This method is particularly effective because it can come from various locations at once, making it difficult to distinguish between legitimate traffic and malicious requests. As a result, traditional security measures may struggle to mitigate the impact of such attacks. Understanding the mechanics and implications of DDoS attacks is crucial for implementing effective defensive strategies in cybersecurity.