A sophisticated attacker targets your web server with the intent to execute a Denial of...

ECCouncil 312-50v12 Question Answer

A sophisticated attacker targets your web server with the intent to execute a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. His strategy involves a unique mixture of TCP SYN, UDP, and ICMP floods, using 'r' packets per second. Your server, reinforced with advanced security measures, can handle 'h' packets per second before it starts showing signs of strain. If 'r' surpasses 'h', it overwhelms the server, causing it to become unresponsive. In a peculiar pattern, the attacker selects 'r' as a composite number and 'h' as a prime number, making the attack detection more challenging. Considering 'r=2010' and different values for 'h', which of the following scenarios would potentially cause the server to falter?

h=1999 (prime): Despite the attacker's packet flood, the server can handle these requests, remaining responsive

h=2003 (prime): The server can manage more packets than the attacker is sending, hence it stays operational

h=1993 (prime): Despite being less than 'r', the server's prime number capacity keeps it barely operational, but the risk of falling is imminent

h=1987 (prime): The attacker's packet rate exceeds the server's capacity, causing potential unresponsiveness

Explanation:

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is a type of cyberattack that aims to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by flooding it with traffic or requests that consume its resources. A TCP SYN flood attack is a type of DoS attack that exploits the TCP handshake process by sending a large number of SYN requests to the target server, without completing the connection. A UDP flood attack is a type of DoS attack that sends a large number of UDP packets to random ports on the target server, forcing it to check for the application listening at that port and reply with an ICMP packet. An ICMP flood attack is a type of DoS attack that sends a large number of ICMP packets, such as ping requests, to the target server, overwhelming its ICMP processing capacity.

The attacker’s strategy involves a unique mixture of TCP SYN, UDP, and ICMP floods, using ‘r’ packets per second. The server can handle ‘h’ packets per second before it starts showing signs of strain. If ‘r’ surpasses ‘h’, it overwhelms the server, causing it to become unresponsive. The attacker selects ‘r’ as a composite number and ‘h’ as a prime number, making the attack detection more challenging. This is because prime numbers are less predictable and more difficult to factorize than composite numbers, which may hinder the analysis of the attack pattern.

Considering ‘r=2010’ and different values for ‘h’, the scenario that would potentially cause the server to falter is the one where ‘h=1987’ (prime). This is because ‘r’ is greater than ‘h’ by 23 packets per second, which means the server cannot handle the incoming traffic and will eventually run out of resources. The other scenarios would not cause the server to falter, as ‘h’ is either greater than or very close to ‘r’, which means the server can either manage or barely cope with the incoming traffic. References:

What is a denial-of-service (DoS) attack? | Cloudflare

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack: Examples and Common Targets - Investopedia

DDoS Attack Types: Glossary of Terms

What is a Denial of Service (DoS) Attack? | Webopedia

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