Definition
DDoS Attacks

A DDoS attack is a distributed denial of service attack. DDoS attacks (and other internet threats) have the potential to disrupt businesses, governments, and other organizations around the world. These attacks do not infiltrate networks with the purpose of finding information or compromising security. Rather, DDoS attacks aim to overload and make a website unavailable, typically a high-profile target. These attacks take place for a variety of reasons, including extortion and protest.

DDoS attacks are often perpetrated by "hacktivist" organizations as a way to protest what it views as perceived wrongs. They are also used by hackers for amusement, or occasionally by criminals as a form of extortion. Protecting a business and network from a DDoS attack requires a well-implemented DDoS mitigation strategy.

DDoS attacks disrupt service availability, cost businesses money in both missed sales and repairs, and undermine consumer confidence in an organization. DDoS mitigation techniques help businesses prevent and eliminate DDoS attacks.