(ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity Practice Exam

What is a denial of service (DoS) attack?

1. An attempt to secure a network by blocking unauthorized access.

2. An attack that makes a server, network, or website unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic.

3. An effort to recover denied access to a website.

4. A method for detecting vulnerabilities in network security.

The correct answer is: An attack that makes a server, network, or website unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic.

A denial of service (DoS) attack is specifically designed to disrupt the normal functioning of a server, network, or website by overwhelming it with an excessive amount of traffic. This overload can consume available resources, such as bandwidth and processing power, to the point where legitimate users are unable to access the service, effectively rendering it unavailable. In essence, the primary goal of a DoS attack is to deny service to legitimate users by causing interruption or degradation of service. This can be achieved through various techniques, such as sending a flood of requests or exploiting system vulnerabilities, which can lead to system crashes or significantly reduced performance. Understanding the nature of a DoS attack is crucial for cybersecurity professionals, as preventing such attacks involves implementing appropriate security measures such as traffic filtering, rate limiting, and redundancy in systems to absorb any attack traffic.