What is a Denial of Service (DoS) attack?

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is specifically designed to make a service unavailable to its intended users. This typically involves overwhelming a server, service, or network with a flood of traffic or requests, making it difficult or impossible for legitimate users to access the service. The goal of a DoS attack is to disrupt normal functioning and can involve various techniques, including resource exhaustion or exploiting vulnerabilities within a system.

Understanding this concept is crucial for recognizing the potential impacts on service availability and the importance of implementing security measures to mitigate such attacks. The nature of these attacks emphasizes the need for effective defense strategies, as maintaining accessible services is vital for any operation or business that relies on networked resources.