Denial of service attacks

Forms of attack: Denial of service attacks

1.4.1 Threats to computer systems and networks

Threats to computer systems and networks — Note 5 of 7

What you need to know

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack overwhelms a website or server with excessive traffic, making it slow or completely inaccessible to legitimate users. The aim is disruption, not data theft.

What to know

The goal is to DISRUPT the service — not to steal data.
The server becomes overloaded and cannot process genuine requests from real users.
Often carried out using botnets (networks of compromised computers) to send requests from many sources simultaneously (DDoS).

Key terms

Denial of ServiceDoS: An attack that floods a server/website with a massive number of requests, overwhelming it and making it unavailable to legitimate users.

Exam technique

Tip:DoS attacks do NOT steal data — they aim to make a service UNAVAILABLE by overwhelming it with traffic.

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