Word of the Day: distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms | April 8, 2019 distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is an attack in which multiple compromised computer systems attack a target, such as a server, website or other network resource, and cause a denial of service for users of the targeted resource. The flood of incoming messages, connection requests or malformed packets to the target system forces it to slow down or even crash and shut down, thereby denying service to legitimate users or systems. DDoS attacks have been carried out by diverse threat actors, ranging from individual criminal hackers to organized crime rings and government agencies. In certain situations, often ones related to poor coding, missing patches or generally unstable systems, even legitimate requests to target systems can result in DDoS-like results. How DDoS attacks work In a typical DDoS attack, the assailant begins by exploiting a vulnerability in one computer system and making it the DDoS master. The attack master system identifies other vulnerable systems and gains control over them by either infecting the systems with malware or through bypassing the authentication controls (i.e., guessing the default password on a widely used system or device). A computer or networked device under the control of an intruder is known as a zombie, or bot. The attacker creates what is called a command-and-control server to command the network of bots, also called a botnet. The person in control of a botnet is sometimes referred to as the botmaster (that term has also historically been used to refer to the first system "recruited" into a botnet because it is used to control the spread and activity of other systems in the botnet). Botnets can be comprised of almost any number of bots; botnets with tens or hundreds of thousands of nodes have become increasingly common, and there may not be an upper limit to their size. Once the botnet is assembled, the attacker can use the traffic generated by the compromised devices to flood the target domain and knock it offline. Types of DDoS attacks There are three types of DDoS attacks. Network-centric or volumetric attacks overload a targeted resource by consuming available bandwidth with packet floods. Protocol attacks target network layer or transport layer protocols using flaws in the protocols to overwhelm targeted resources. And application layer attacks overload application services or databases with a high volume of application calls. The inundation of packets at the target causes a denial of service. While it is clear that the target of a DDoS attack is a victim, there can be many other victims in a typical DDoS attack, including the owners of the systems used to execute the attack. Although the owners of infected computers are typically unaware their systems have been compromised, they are nevertheless likely to suffer a degradation of service during a DDoS attack. Continue reading... Quote of the Day "The best practice in dealing with DDoS attacks is to audit your network and understand your weak points; you also want to be able to do a little forecasting and understand what your risks are." - Daniel Smith Trending Terms denial-of-service attack command-and-control server zombie botnet attack surface DNS amplification attack Learning Center Radware: DDoS amplification attacks increasing, evolving Radware's Daniel Smith sheds light on DDoS attack trends, including the rise of amplification attacks, and offers best practices for mitigating such attacks. Pipdig WordPress plugin accused of DDoS attacks and backdoors The Pipdig WordPress plugin was updated to quietly remove code that was said to be used to give the company backdoor access to customer blogs and launch low-scale DDoS attacks on rivals. FBI: How we stopped the Mirai botnet attacks The Mirai botnet took the world by storm in September 2016. At RSA Conference 2019, FBI Special Agent Elliott Peterson said there were warning signs that the Mirai attacks were coming. He shared the signs and explained how the FBI eventually saw them. Why do DDoS attack patterns rise in the autumn? DDoS attack patterns indicate an increase every fall. Why does that occur and what should companies do to protect themselves from these attacks? New DDoS attack technique puts CSPs at risk Attackers are using a new DDoS attack technique, called the bit-and-piece attack, to target CSPs, according to a recent Nexusguard report. And a company exec explained how it works. Quiz Yourself A botnet is a group of computers organized to distribute spam or malware -- _________ the owners are typically unaware of the fact. a. though b. although c. even though Answer Stay in Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed! FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2018 TechTarget. All rights reserved.