How is a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack characterized?

A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is characterized by overwhelming a service with excessive traffic. This type of attack typically involves multiple compromised computers, often referred to as a botnet, which are used to flood the target system or network with an immense amount of traffic. The primary objective of a DDoS attack is to exhaust the resources of the target, rendering it unable to respond to legitimate requests and effectively denying service to users.

The essence of a DDoS attack lies in its capacity to disrupt normal operations by inundating a service, which can lead to significant downtime, loss of revenue, and damage to reputation. This differs fundamentally from other types of attacks, such as those aimed at stealing data or exploiting vulnerabilities, which have different goals and methods of execution. Thus, understanding that overwhelming a service with excessive traffic is the defining feature of DDoS attacks helps clarify its purpose and the impact it can have on organizations.