DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service, DDoS) is a distributed "denial of service" attack, one of the most common ways to disrupt the operation of online services. The essence is that a large number of devices simultaneously send a mass of similar requests to the victim server. The system's resources are quickly exhausted, and it stops responding to any requests, including those of legitimate users.
Unlike an ordinary DoS attack from a single source, a DDoS uses many distributed nodes, often combined into so-called botnets — networks of infected devices. This complicates the filtering of malicious traffic and the blocking of sources, since requests come from a large number of different addresses.
In the crypto industry, such attacks are sometimes aimed at exchanges, wallets, mining pools, and the infrastructure of services. They are used as a tool of pressure, unfair competition, or a cover for other actions by attackers. For protection, distributed content delivery networks, traffic filtering, request-rate limiting, and specialized anti-DDoS services are used. It is important for a user to understand: the temporary unavailability of a platform due to an attack does not mean their funds are compromised, but it does call for caution and checking the service's official channels.
