Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What application is identified as a network stress testing and DoS attack tool?

1. OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

2. LOIC

3. Wireshark

4. Nbtstat

The correct answer is: LOIC

The correct answer is identified as a tool specifically designed for network stress testing and Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, making it particularly effective at overwhelming servers and networks with traffic. LOIC, which stands for Low Orbit Ion Cannon, is widely recognized in the cybersecurity community for its use in coordinated cyber attacks, especially during hacktivist operations. It allows users to send a large volume of TCP, UDP, or HTTP requests to a specific target, making it capable of generating considerable traffic designed to disrupt services. In contrast, the other options serve different purposes. OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is primarily a security tool for finding vulnerabilities in web applications, focusing on assessing and improving application security rather than stress testing. Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that captures and analyzes network traffic, primarily for diagnostics and monitoring, rather than generating attacks or stress testing. Nbtstat is a Windows command-line tool used for diagnosing issues related to NetBIOS over TCP/IP, which does not relate to network stress testing or performing DoS attacks. This understanding emphasizes how certain tools are tailored for specific functions in ethical hacking, such as LOIC's explicit use for network stress testing and DoS tactics.