distributed denial of service attack

A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is a type of cybercrime where multiple compromised computers are used to overwhelm an online service, such as a website, with repeated requests for data. This flood of traffic prevents legitimate users from accessing the service.12

DDoS attacks are difficult to defend against because they originate from numerous sources, making it hard to distinguish malicious traffic from normal user activity. These attacks can be orchestrated using malicious software, often disguised as legitimate files, that infects computers and awaits a remote command to launch the attack. A notable example occurred in 2016 when the Mirai botnet, composed of infected internet-connected devices like cameras and DVRs, disrupted significant internet traffic by taking down a major domain name system provider. DDoS attacks have also been employed for political purposes, targeting websites of countries during times of conflict.21