What is a Denial-of-Service Attack?
A Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack is an effort by a hacker to overload or shutdown a service, preventing legitimate users from accessing it. Typically, DoS attacks target web servers, aiming to crash websites by flooding them with more traffic than they can handle. No data is stolen or compromised, but the service interruption can cause financial or reputational damage to an organization. The most common method to carry out an attack is by using a botnet (multiple hacker-controlled computers) to overload the server with requests, in what is called a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack.
How to Recognize This Threat: The obvious symptom of a DoS attack is unavailability of a normally reliable website or service, from online gaming to email. These attacks can also cause major network slowdowns for those affected.
How to Prevent This Threat: Stop a DoS attack by denying hackers access to your network. That means a powerful firewall with active security services as part of a layered security approach.