DOS Attack
A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal functioning of a network, service, website, or computer system by overwhelming it with a flood of illegitimate traffic or requests. The goal of a DoS attack is to render the targeted system or network unavailable to its intended users, causing disruption, inconvenience, and potentially financial or reputational damage.
There are two main types of DoS attacks:
Volume-based DoS attacks: These attacks attempt to overwhelm the target with traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users.
Application-layer DoS attacks: These attacks target specific vulnerabilities in applications or protocols.
Here are some examples of DoS attacks:
Ping flood: In a ping flood attack, the attacker sends a large number of ping requests to the target, overwhelming its resources and making it unavailable to legitimate users.
SYN flood: In a SYN flood attack, the attacker sends a large number of SYN (synchronize) packets to the target, which are used to initiate TCP connections. The target then sends back SYN-ACK packets, but the attacker does not respond to them. This causes the target to keep track of a large number of half-open connections, which can eventually exhaust its resources and make it unavailable to legitimate users.
Smurf attack: In a Smurf attack, the attacker sends a large number of ICMP echo request packets to a broadcast address, with the forged source address of the target. This causes all of the hosts on the network to send ICMP echo reply packets to the target, overwhelming its resources and making it unavailable to legitimate users.
Teardrop attack: In a Teardrop attack, the attacker sends a large number of fragmented IP packets to the target, with overlapping fragments. The target is unable to reassemble the packets correctly, which can cause it to crash or become unresponsive.
DDOS Attack
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a variation of a DoS attack in which the attack traffic is generated from a large number of distributed sources. In a DDoS attack, multiple compromised computers, often referred to as a botnet, are used to flood a target system, network, or service with a high volume of traffic, requests, or data, overwhelming it and causing a denial of service to legitimate users.
Distributing resources for a Distributed Denial-of-Service attack involves the coordination and utilization of multiple compromised or controlled devices to launch the attack. Hackers typically use various techniques to accomplish this distribution, often relying on networks of compromised devices, known as botnets. Here's how they do it:
Botnets: Hackers build and control botnets, which are networks of infected or compromised computers, servers, IoT devices, or other devices. These devices are often infected with malware, such as Trojans, worms, or viruses. Hackers compromise these devices through vulnerabilities, weak passwords, or other means.
Zombie Devices: The compromised devices in the botnet are often referred to as "zombies." These zombies are under the control of the attacker and can be instructed to participate in the DDoS attack. They generate and send a flood of traffic or requests to the target, overwhelming its resources.
Command and Control (C&C) Servers: To coordinate the attack and manage the botnet, hackers set up C&C servers. These servers serve as the central command hub, allowing the attacker to send instructions to the zombie devices, specifying the target and attack parameters.
Distribution of Attack Traffic: The C&C server instructs the zombie devices to start sending traffic to the target. This traffic can take various forms, depending on the attack type. The traffic from multiple sources makes it difficult for the target to distinguish between legitimate and malicious traffic.
Anonymity: Attackers often take steps to conceal their identity and location. They may use proxy servers, VPNs, or other anonymizing techniques to obscure their presence and avoid detection.
Traffic Amplification: In some DDoS attacks, the attacker may exploit amplification techniques to magnify the volume of traffic sent to the target. This is achieved by directing a small amount of traffic to open or misconfigured services, which then generate much larger responses to the target.
Variability: Attackers may change the source IP addresses of the traffic or rotate the devices involved in the attack to evade detection and mitigation efforts.
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