The recent outage on Microsoft Corp.’s cloud-computer platform demonstrated the persistence of an older, blunt-force style of cyberattack.
It’s called a distributed denial-of-service attack, DDoS for short, and it works by directing massive amounts of junk internet traffic at a target, like a website or server, to disrupt it or even knock it offline. It’s become a favorite tool of hacktivists seeking to make a statement by targeting government institutions, banks or major companies.
The attack on Microsoft started Tuesday morning, hours before the technology giant was scheduled