What characterizes a Denial of Service (DoS) attack?

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is characterized primarily by a single attacker flooding a target system with an overwhelming number of requests or data traffic. The goal of this attack is to exhaust the resources of the target system, making it unable to respond to legitimate requests from users. This often leads to service unavailability, where the victim cannot perform its intended functions, effectively denying access to legitimate users.

In a typical DoS scenario, the attacker may utilize various methods, such as sending numerous requests in a short period or exploiting vulnerabilities to cause disruption. It's important to distinguish this from other types of attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, where multiple systems collaborate to amplify the assault, but in this specific case, the focus is on a single attacker.

Understanding this concept is critical in security training, as it enables IT professionals to recognize signs of a DoS attack and implement robust security measures to protect systems from being overwhelmed.