What is Distributed Denial Of Service DDOS Attack?
Distributed Denial Of Service DDOS Attack Definition: A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a coordinated assault on network infrastructure or services where multiple compromised systems flood the target with overwhelming traffic from many sources simultaneously, exhausting server resources and bandwidth capacity, and preventing legitimate users from accessing the targeted system, website, or network service.
Understanding Distributed Denial Of Service DDOS Attack
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming it with a flood of internet traffic from multiple sources. Unlike regular denial of service attacks that use a single connection, DDoS attacks harness multiple compromised computer systems as attack sources, making them far more devastating and difficult to mitigate.
These attacks typically leverage botnet armies—networks of infected computers and IoT devices unwittingly controlled by attackers. The compromised machines, often numbering in the thousands or even millions, simultaneously bombard the target with requests, consuming its bandwidth, exhausting system resources, or exploiting application vulnerabilities until legitimate users can no longer access services.
What makes DDoS attacks particularly dangerous is their evolving sophistication. Modern attacks employ multiple vectors simultaneously, intelligently target specific application vulnerabilities, and dynamically adjust tactics to circumvent defenses. Some attackers also use DDoS as a smokescreen—causing security teams to focus on the highly visible service disruption while quietly conducting data theft or network infiltration elsewhere.
Defending against these attacks requires a multi-layered approach combining traffic filtering, rate limiting, network monitoring, and specialized DDoS protection services that can distinguish between legitimate traffic surges and attack traffic. Organizations increasingly deploy cloud-based DDoS protection services that can absorb and scrub massive volumes of traffic before it reaches their infrastructure, providing protection against even the largest attacks that would otherwise overwhelm on-premises defenses.