Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks remain one of the most disruptive threats to online services. Understanding how they work is the first step to defending against them.
What is a DDoS Attack?
A DDoS attack floods a target with traffic from multiple sources, overwhelming its capacity to handle legitimate requests. Unlike single-source DoS attacks, DDoS attacks are distributed across thousands or millions of compromised devices.
Modern DDoS attacks can generate terabits of traffic per second, capable of taking down even well-protected infrastructure without proper mitigation.
Types of DDoS Attacks
Volumetric Attacks
Flood the target with massive amounts of traffic to consume bandwidth. Examples include UDP floods and DNS amplification attacks.
Protocol Attacks
Exploit weaknesses in network layer protocols. SYN floods and Ping of Death are classic examples.
Application Layer Attacks
Target specific applications with seemingly legitimate requests. HTTP floods and Slowloris attacks fall into this category.
Critical Alert
DDoS attacks in 2026 frequently exceed 1 Tbps. Without proper mitigation infrastructure, even large organizations can be taken offline.
Protection Strategies
Defending against DDoS requires multiple layers:
- IP Reputation Filtering - Block known attack sources and botnet IPs before they can participate in attacks
- Rate Limiting - Limit requests per IP to prevent any single source from overwhelming resources
- CDN/DDoS Mitigation - Use specialized services designed to absorb and filter attack traffic
Block Botnet IPs
Our botnet C2 feed helps you block IPs that commonly participate in DDoS attacks.