The Evolution of Denial-of-Service Attacks: From DoS to DDoS – Mechanisms, Impacts, and Defensive Strategies

• Published in: European Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology Vol. 13; no. 47; pp. 134 - 146
• Main Author: Khaund, Bhaskardeep
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 26.06.2025
• ISSN: 2054-0957; 2054-0965
• DOI: 10.37745/ejcsit.2013/vol13n47134146

Denial-of-Service attacks represent a significant and evolving threat within the cybersecurity landscape. These attacks have transformed from relatively simple single-source disruptions to sophisticated distributed assaults leveraging thousands of compromised devices. This evolution marks a substantial increase in attack complexity, scale, and resilience against traditional mitigation techniques. The fundamental mechanisms behind these attacks involve overwhelming target systems with excessive traffic or requests, rendering services unavailable to legitimate users. As attack methodologies have advanced, defensive strategies have necessarily evolved in parallel, transitioning from basic filtering techniques to complex, multi-layered protection systems. The impacts of these attacks extend beyond immediate technical disruptions, encompassing financial losses, reputational damage, and operational challenges across affected organizations. Contemporary defensive frameworks incorporate traffic analysis, anomaly detection, and adaptive response mechanisms designed to identify and mitigate attacks in real-time. Understanding this evolutionary trajectory provides critical context for security professionals developing robust protection strategies. The ongoing technological arms race between attackers and defenders continues to shape both offensive capabilities and defensive countermeasures, highlighting the need for continuous innovation in security architectures.