What is a Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack?

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a network, server, or service by overwhelming it with a flood of traffic or resource requests.

As a result, legitimate users are unable to access the targeted system, making it temporarily unavailable. DoS attacks are often carried out using a single device and typically aim to exhaust the system’s resources.

Common defenses include rate limiting, traffic filtering, and setting up redundant systems. A more advanced form of DoS is a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, which involves multiple sources.