Which type of attack involves overwhelming a server to disrupt services?

Which type of attack involves overwhelming a server to disrupt services?

• A. A Denial of Service attack
• B. An SQL injection attack
• C. A phishing attack
• D. A ransomware attack

Answer: (A)

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is characterized by overwhelming a server with excessive requests, which can prevent legitimate users from accessing services. The primary objective of a DoS attack is to render a system or service unavailable by consuming all of its resources, such as bandwidth, processing power, or memory. This is typically done by flooding the target with a high volume of traffic, leading to slowdowns, crashes, or complete inaccessibility.

In contrast, an SQL injection attack targets vulnerabilities in a database by injecting malicious SQL code to manipulate or access data improperly. A phishing attack is a social engineering tactic designed to trick users into providing sensitive information, typically through deceptive emails or websites. Ransomware attacks involve malware that encrypts files on a system, demanding payment for decryption. Each of these latter attacks targets different vulnerabilities and has different goals compared to the straightforward service disruption of a DoS attack.