Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What effect does sending a large number of SYN requests have in a SYN attack?

1. It establishes a secure VPN connection

2. It depletes network resources

3. It increases network speed

4. It complicates routing processes

The correct answer is: It depletes network resources

Sending a large number of SYN requests during a SYN attack primarily aims to deplete network resources, which is why the chosen answer is accurate. In a SYN flood attack, an attacker exploits the TCP three-way handshake process by sending a multitude of SYN packets to a target server. Each SYN packet requests a connection, prompting the server to allocate resources to manage these connection requests. As the server receives these SYN packets, it responds with SYN-ACK packets while waiting for the final ACK from the client to establish the connection. However, in a SYN flood attack, the attacker often does not complete the handshake. Consequently, the server is left holding these half-open connections, leading to a consumption of its resources—bandwidth, memory, and processing power. With too many of these requests, legitimate users may find that they cannot connect to the server, thus effectively overwhelming and disrupting normal operations. The other choices do not align with the intended effect of a SYN attack. Establishing a secure VPN connection is unrelated, as SYN attacks focus on overwhelming services rather than securing them. Increasing network speed is contrary to what happens in a SYN attack; instead, it degrades performance due to resource exhaustion. Complicating routing processes may occur under certain network conditions, but it