Cybersecurity expert

DDoS attacks are not just about disrupting services; they can serve as a smokescreen for more damaging cyber activities. While a business is preoccupied with mitigating a flood of malicious traffic, attackers may exploit this distraction to breach other security defenses, steal sensitive data, or plant malware. This two-pronged approach makes DDoS attacks particularly dangerous, as they not only cause immediate disruption but can also lead to longer-term vulnerabilities and breaches. 1. What are DDoS Attacks? To understand the cost of ignoring DDoS attacks, it's important to first grasp what these attacks entail. A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is a cyberattack in which multiple compromised systems, often forming a botnet, are used to flood a target—such as a website, server, or network—with excessive requests or traffic. The sheer volume of traffic overwhelms the system, causing it to slow down, malfunction, or crash entirely. The malicious intent behind