Which attack involves spoofing the source IP to send ICMP Echo requests to an IP broadcast network to flood the target?

Which attack involves spoofing the source IP to send ICMP Echo requests to an IP broadcast network to flood the target?

• A. Smurf attack
• B. PoD
• C. ICMP flood attacks
• D. DDoS attack

Answer: (A)

This is about using IP spoofing with a broadcast ping to overwhelm a target. The attacker forges the source IP to be the victim’s address and sends ICMP Echo Requests to the broadcast address of a network. Every host on that network that receives the request replies to the forged source (the victim), creating a flood of ICMP Echo Replies toward the victim. The sudden surge consumes bandwidth and resources, causing a denial of service for the target. This technique relies on amplifying replies through many hosts and is a classic Smurf attack. Other options describe different ideas: a Ping of Death uses oversized packets to crash systems, a general ICMP flood attack covers floods using ICMP but not the broadcast amplification trick, and a DDoS is a broad category that can include Smurf as one of its many methods.

This is about using IP spoofing with a broadcast ping to overwhelm a target. The attacker forges the source IP to be the victim’s address and sends ICMP Echo Requests to the broadcast address of a network. Every host on that network that receives the request replies to the forged source (the victim), creating a flood of ICMP Echo Replies toward the victim. The sudden surge consumes bandwidth and resources, causing a denial of service for the target. This technique relies on amplifying replies through many hosts and is a classic Smurf attack.

Other options describe different ideas: a Ping of Death uses oversized packets to crash systems, a general ICMP flood attack covers floods using ICMP but not the broadcast amplification trick, and a DDoS is a broad category that can include Smurf as one of its many methods.