Which attack spoofs the victim's IP address and sends a large number of ICMP ECHO requests to an IP broadcast network, amplifying traffic?

Which attack spoofs the victim's IP address and sends a large number of ICMP ECHO requests to an IP broadcast network, amplifying traffic?

• A. Smurf attack
• B. Ping of Death
• C. UDP flood attack
• D. ICMP flood attacks

Answer: (A)

This attack hinges on spoofing the source IP and abusing a broadcast network to multiply ICMP responses toward the victim. The attacker sends ICMP Echo Request packets to a network’s broadcast address while disguising the source as the victim’s IP. Every host on that broadcast domain replies to the spoofed address, causing a flood of ICMP Echo Replies directed at the victim. The result is a large amplification of traffic aimed at the victim, which is characteristic of a Smurf attack. Modern defenses counter this by disabling IP-directed broadcasts on routers, implementing anti-spoofing measures to prevent forged source addresses, enabling ICMP rate limiting, and configuring hosts not to respond to broadcast pings. The other options describe different issues: a Ping of Death involves oversized packets; a UDP flood targets UDP services rather than ICMP; a generic ICMP flood doesn’t rely on broadcast amplification.

This attack hinges on spoofing the source IP and abusing a broadcast network to multiply ICMP responses toward the victim. The attacker sends ICMP Echo Request packets to a network’s broadcast address while disguising the source as the victim’s IP. Every host on that broadcast domain replies to the spoofed address, causing a flood of ICMP Echo Replies directed at the victim. The result is a large amplification of traffic aimed at the victim, which is characteristic of a Smurf attack. Modern defenses counter this by disabling IP-directed broadcasts on routers, implementing anti-spoofing measures to prevent forged source addresses, enabling ICMP rate limiting, and configuring hosts not to respond to broadcast pings. The other options describe different issues: a Ping of Death involves oversized packets; a UDP flood targets UDP services rather than ICMP; a generic ICMP flood doesn’t rely on broadcast amplification.