DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service. Before getting to know DDoS, let’s understand what Denial of Service actually means. When a server is not able to serve the requests it is getting, it leads to Denial of Service.

Let’s get to understand this with a simple example. Imagine a web server which can handle 100 requests per second. If the server receives more than 100 requests/second, the server cannot respond to all the requests, since it is exceeding the request limits. This will lead to disruption of service which is called as Denial of Service.

Now let’s get to know DDoS attack. It is a malicious attempt to disrupt the functioning of a service by overwhelming the target website with multiple requests. This leads to the service becoming inoperable. The legitimate users also will be able to use the service since the service is overwhelmed with requests and cannot handle any new requests.