DoS Vs DDoS Attacks: The Major Differences

Major cyberattacks happen now and then, they may range from basic and small scale to heinous and high scale attacks. The nature and size of attacks depend on the motive of the attacker. If an attacker wants, they can launch a series of attacks that will start minorly but will grow in nature and size later and affect maybe a large chunk of the population. DoS (denial of services) and DDoS (distributed denial of services) are such attacks, they can be performed on a small scale or large scale depending on the motive and potential of the hacker. As cybercrime is increasing continuously, you must keep your business safe online with the help of cybersecurity professionals or with the use of cybersecurity service providers in India.

In this blog, we will be talking about DoS vs DDoS, discuss both of them in detail & go through their differences.

DoS (denial of services) and DDoS (distributed denial of services) | Secninjaz Technologies

What is Denial of Services (DoS)?

Denial of services is when your system is under attack, and you lose access to your system as a result of the attack. Interestingly, sometimes this technique is used even legally if a system with important information falls into the wrong hands, DoS is a way to protect the data altogether.

Although, in this blog, we are not discussing it as a cybersecurity move but rather as a threat.

DoS (denial of services) | Secninjaz Technologies

What Is Distributed Denial Of Services (DDoS)?

A mass attack is commenced by the attacker on one system, i.e., when the attacker uses several systems to attack the system of one user. As a result of the attack, the user loses access to their system, it is called a DDoS attack.

DDoS (distributed denial of services) | Secninjaz Technologies

Are DoS And DDoS The Same?

Denial Of Services and Distributed Denial of Services may be similar, but not the same. There are differences in their execution methods, root sources and many other characteristics. Following are some major differences between DoS & DDoS attacks.

Speed Of Commencement

A DDoS attack can be commenced faster in comparison to a DoS attack as it takes place through multiple systems. All the systems attack a single system at once in case of a DDoS attack, while in DoS, the attack is commenced as a one-to-one system. Hence, the speed of attack is much faster.

Tracing Source

Tracing the source of a DoS attack is easier since there is only one system involved. Identifying the source of a DDoS attack is very difficult since there are multiple systems. There is a whole network of bots involved in a DDoS attack, making it difficult to get traced.

Ease Of Detection

A DoS attack is easier to detect since the source of the attack is only one system, while a DDoS attack involves multiple systems, hence it’s trickier to mitigate it. A proficient firewall can detect a DoS attack, while multiple origins of attack make it difficult to pin down and curb a DDoS attack.

Execution Method

A DoS attack generally uses a tool or a script to launch the attack from a single machine. A DDoS attack uses a network of zombified machines infected through malware to create a bot-net controlled through a C&C (Command & Control) server.

Traffic Volume

The traffic volume sent in a DoS attack is comparatively less than in a DDoS attack because of the number of systems involved in the attack. In a DDoS attack, the number of attacking systems is multiple, which can send a large volume of traffic to the target system at once. Since there is only one system involved in a DoS attack, the traffic volume sent is less comparatively.

All these are the differences between a DoS and DDoS attack. Even though there are these base differences, but we can say that “All the DDoS attacks are DoS attacks but not all the DoS attacks are DDoS attacks”

DoS and DDoS attacks may be high profile, but they can be detected and eradicated through some simple steps. Implementation of a web application firewall is a primary method to avoid DoS attacks. Detection of incoming traffic volume is very crucial to detect and predict a potential DoS attack, there are some software and tools to do so. If you are aware of how to use those tools, you can monitor the traffic volume on your own, otherwise, you may take the help of professional cybersecurity providers.