Hunting Security Bugs

Chapter 14. Denial of Service Attacks

In this chapter:
Understanding Types of DoS Attacks
Testing Tips
Summary

Denial of service (DoS) attacks are those that impede how an application performs, sometimes rendering it useless for legitimate users. Simply put, a DoS attempts to inconvenience the victim, but can also cause a lot of damage.

While sometimes only a minor inconvenience, in many cases the costs of DoS attacks are very real and can start adding up: lost revenue, lost productivity, damaged reputation, and so on. Ever heard the quote by Benjamin Franklin, “Time is money”? Imagine that an attacker is able to prevent you from accessing your bank account, e-mail server, or even your personal computer connected to the Internet. Or imagine that you ...