SUMMARY

As you have seen, malicious users can launch many types of DoS attacks to disrupt service. Bandwidth-consumption DDoS attacks remain the latest rage with their ability to amplify meager amounts of traffic to business- threatening levels.

As e-commerce continues to play a major part in the electronic economy, DoS attacks will have an even greater impact on our electronic society. Many organizations are now beginning to realize the bulk of their revenues from online sources. As a result, a protracted DoS attack has the capability of sending some organizations into bankruptcy. Last of all, let's not forget the implications of DoS attacks used for military purposes. Many governments have or are in the process of ramping up offensive electronic warfare capabilities that use DoS attacks rather than conventional missiles. With the advent of the DoS attack, and the brashness of 9/11, the age of cyberterrorism has truly arrived.

For an updated list of DoS information resources, we recommend http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/Abuse/Denial_of_Service and Dave Dittrich's page at http://staff.washington.edu/dittrich/misc/ddos.