What type of attack is a denial of service attack?

A denial of service (DoS) attack is characterized by its primary objective: to disrupt services. In this type of attack, the perpetrator overwhelms a targeted system, such as a server or network, with excessive requests or malicious traffic, rendering it unable to respond to legitimate user requests. This can lead to downtime, loss of accessibility, and ultimately, financial loss for the affected organization.

By focusing solely on the aspect of service disruption, it highlights how DoS attacks are designed specifically to hinder normal operations and create significant challenges for the victims, who struggle to maintain service availability. Understanding the nature of such attacks is crucial for implementing effective defenses and maintaining system integrity.