A DDoS attack (Distributed Denial-of-Service) involves overwhelming a system with excessive traffic to disrupt services and render it unavailable to users. Attackers typically use multiple compromised devices to generate traffic, making it difficult to isolate and mitigate the impact. DDoS attacks can lead to significant operational losses, damage to reputation, and costly recovery efforts for targeted organizations. Understanding the nature of such attacks is vital for implementing effective security measures to safeguard against potential threats and ensure continuous service availability.