Smurf attack: What is it, and how does it work?
Smurf attack explained
The Smurf attack is a popular protocol-based type of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. Through it, attackers aim to bring down their targets and make the network resources unavailable for regular users. Additionally, it is a huge threat to the finances and reputation of the attacked online organization.
The Smurf attack works by taking advantage of the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). The attacker sends large amounts of ping data packets with the forged IP address of the victim to one or multiple devices. All of them return an answer to the server, and the traffic is increasing massively. As a result, the resources of the server are overloaded, and the normal function is disturbed. Finally, the victim goes down, and it is incapable of answering the users’ requests.