CompTIA Security+ (SY0-501) — Question 790

An attacker has gained control of several systems on the Internet and is using them to attack a website, causing it to stop responding to legitimate traffic. Which of the following BEST describes the attack?

Answer options

• A. MITM
• B. DNS poisoning
• C. Buffer overflow
• D. DDoS

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is DDoS, which stands for Distributed Denial of Service, as it involves overwhelming a website with traffic from multiple compromised systems. MITM (A) refers to Man-in-the-Middle attacks where an attacker intercepts communication, DNS poisoning (B) alters DNS records to redirect traffic, and buffer overflow (C) exploits software vulnerabilities but does not specifically involve multiple systems attacking a website.