Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What is the name of the attack that sends a large number of connection requests with fake source IP addresses?

1. SYN Flood Attack

2. UDP Flood Attack

3. Ping of Death

4. Permanent DoS Attack

The correct answer is: SYN Flood Attack

The attack characterized by sending a large number of connection requests with fake source IP addresses is known as a SYN Flood Attack. This type of attack exploits the TCP three-way handshake process, where an attacker sends a flood of SYN packets, often using spoofed IP addresses to obscure the true origin of the attack. As a result, the target server becomes overwhelmed by the abundance of half-open connections, consuming its resources and potentially rendering it unable to legitimate requests, which can lead to a Denial of Service (DoS). The SYN Flood specifically targets the initial connection phase, making it distinct and effective in disrupting normal traffic behavior. By overwhelming the server's ability to manage incoming connections, this attack increases latency and can lead to service outages. In contrast, the other options present different types of attacks or methods of disruption. A UDP Flood Attack involves sending a barrage of UDP packets to random ports on a server, causing it to respond with ICMP Destination Unreachable packets. The Ping of Death is an older exploit that involves sending malformed packets, which are larger than the maximum size allowed by the protocol, while a Permanent DoS Attack (often referred to as PDoS) results in a long-term inability to continue operating by compromising hardware. Each of these attacks