DDoS stands for Distributed Denial-of-Service. A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target and/or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of internet traffic. DDoS attacks rely on multiple compromised computer systems for their effectiveness and the sources of their attack traffic. DDoS attacks compromise not just computer systems but also connected devices as well as IoT setups. To understand this better, imagine a traffic jam on a national highway that is clogging up the whole traffic to and from two points that the highway connects, thereby preventing anybody from going from city A to city B and from city B to city A. This is what a DDoS attack does to the system, preventing normal functioning by clogging up the system.

So, how does a DDoS attack function?

To operate and function, DDoS functions require machines connected to the internet, basically, a network of internet-connected devices, including computer systems as well as connected devices. Once the network is infected with malware, the devices in the network can now be remotely controlled by the attack. The individual devices are then called bots or sometimes even called zombies, while the group of devices is called the botnet.

The botnet can then target a potential victim’s server or network. To attack the victim’s server or network, every bot is made to send requests to the victim’s IP addresses. This would cause the victim’s server or network to be overwhelmed. This would clog the system completely, resulting in denial-of-service to the regular, normal traffic.

We hope you enjoyed listening to it and learned something new from it. We promise to come back next week with another new, exciting episode of the Cognixia podcast.