On this topic Newsletters Security Strategies. A DDoS attack is one in which a number of computers worldwide are harnessed, often through hacking, to flood a site with requests for service. Due to the volume of requests, the victim computer cannot distinguish between standard and attack traffic, thus keeping anyone from getting access. Such attacks are launched around 4,000 times each week, according to a study released earlier in the week by researchers at the University of California at San Diego.
Security companies say similar things.
Launching such attacks is easier than ever before thanks to automated tools, Washburn said, noting that the recent attacks, such as those on the White House's Web site, were fairly simplistic. The ease with which DDoS attacks can be launched is troubling, she said. People have got to take this seriously. Taking the situation seriously is not simply a matter of installing patches and firewalls and closely monitoring servers, she said. Firewalls and other devices won't work to stop DDoS attacks because they aren't close enough to the guts of the Internet, Washburn said.