Which statement describes a DDoS attack?

• A. Attacks that utilize multiple systems to disrupt the traffic of a targeted system by flooding the target with too much information in order to slow or crash the intended target(s).
• B. A method of data theft by phishing
• C. A malware that steals data
• D. A hardware device

Answer: (A)

A DDoS attack is when many compromised systems are used together to overwhelm a target, flooding it with far more traffic or requests than it can handle so legitimate users can’t access the service. The key idea is that the attack comes from multiple sources (distributed) and aims to deny service by saturating bandwidth, processing power, or memory, causing slowdowns or a crash. That is why the statement describing attackers using multiple systems to disrupt the target’s traffic by flooding it with information fits best: it captures both the distributed nature and the denial of service through overwhelming load.

Phishing, by contrast, tricks people into revealing credentials, which is a data-theft social engineering tactic, not a traffic flood. Malware that steals data focuses on covert data exfiltration, not disrupting service. A hardware device describes a physical component, not a network attack.