DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. It is a type of cyber attack where a large number of computers or internet-connected devices are used to overwhelm a target server or network with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
The attackers typically use malware to infect a large number of computers and create a network of compromised devices, called a botnet. They then use this botnet to send a huge amount of traffic to the target server, overwhelming it and causing it to crash or become unavailable.
DDoS attacks can be launched for various reasons, such as extortion, revenge, political activism, or simply to cause disruption and chaos. They can also be used as a diversionary tactic to distract security personnel from other attacks or to cover up other malicious activities.
DDoS attacks can be difficult to defend against because they often involve a large number of sources, making it hard to distinguish legitimate traffic from malicious traffic. Mitigation techniques include filtering out traffic from known attack sources, limiting the number of connections from individual IP addresses, and deploying anti-DDoS hardware and software solutions.
