expression

DDoS attack

overwhelming a service with traffic to knock it offline

In more detail

1. (noun) a cyberattack in which hackers send massive amounts of traffic to a website or computer system to make it unable to serve legitimate users. DDoS stands for "Distributed Denial of Service". 2. (noun) the act of conducting such an attack

Examples

1. The online store's website went down during a DDoS attack that flooded their servers with fake requests.
2. Hackers launched a DDoS attack against the bank's network to disrupt their services.

How to use DDoS attack

DDoS attack is a technical term used primarily in cybersecurity, IT, and computing contexts. It refers to a specific category of cyberattack where attackers overwhelm a target's resources with traffic from multiple sources, distinguishing it from simpler denial of service attacks that use a single source. The term is used in formal discussions of cybersecurity threats, incident reports, and defensive measures.

Common phrases

launch a DDoS attack
suffer a DDoS attack
DDoS attack on
DDoS protection
DDoS mitigation

Synonyms

denial of service attack · distributed denial of service · cyberattack

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse DDoS attacks with hacking into systems; a DDoS attack does not involve unauthorized access to data or systems, only the disruption of service availability.

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