DDoS
Distributed Denial of Service
Verteilter Überlastungsangriff
A DDoS attack overloads a target with a flood of requests from many distributed sources simultaneously, until a service is no longer reachable for legitimate users. The distribution across countless systems — often a botnet — makes it hard to defend against and block. It attacks not confidentiality but availability.
History & facts. While a simple DoS originates from one source, DDoS bundles the load of many — hijacked computers, IoT devices or rented attack services. Techniques range from sheer bandwidth flooding through exploiting protocol weaknesses to amplification, in which small requests trigger large responses to the victim. Such attacks serve disruption, extortion or as a distraction from a parallel break-in.
Outlook & recommendation. Defending against large attacks generally requires specialised protection services that filter the traffic and absorb excess load before it reaches the target; one's own lines are quickly overwhelmed. Preparation is important: a known contact at the provider, a rehearsed procedure, separation of critical services. Since DDoS also serves as a distraction, an attack should never be viewed in isolation but accompanied by heightened vigilance for parallel activity.