Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What is the key characteristic of a Permanent DoS (PDoS) attack?

1. It crashes the victim's network.

2. It creates temporary resource exhaustion.

3. It targets hardware for irreversible damage.

4. It sends multiple SYN packets.

The correct answer is: It targets hardware for irreversible damage.

A Permanent DoS (PDoS) attack is characterized by its focus on targeting hardware to cause irreversible damage. Unlike other types of denial-of-service attacks that may temporarily disrupt availability by overwhelming resources or crashing services, a PDoS attack aims to inflict lasting physical harm to network devices, such as routers or switches. This can involve exploiting vulnerabilities to manipulate or destroy the hardware components, rendering them inoperable and requiringreplacement or significant repair efforts. This distinguishing factor sets PDoS apart from attacks that may only result in temporary downtime or resource exhaustion. For example, while some attacks might create resource exhaustion, this is often reversible. The focus on permanent damage makes PDoS particularly severe, as it can have long-term implications for the infrastructure and necessitate substantial recovery efforts. Additionally, the notion of sending multiple SYN packets, while associated with certain denial-of-service tactics, does not align with the permanent damage characteristic central to PDoS attacks.