POD and DDOS Attacks
The Ping command is a handy tool for troubleshooting. The command sends packets of information to an organization's IP address/domain and requests an echoed response, allowing the user to ensure no connection issues. When used maliciously, it can wreak havoc on a network system. These attacks are referred to as Ping of Death (POD), a type of denial-of-service (DOS) attack (Newman, 2024). Attackers overwhelm the targets' system with packet requests, often from multiple compromised systems, causing an abrupt increase in traffic on the network and servers. This causes the system to become slow for the typical site user, eventually crashing the entire system.