International Research Journal of Education and Technology

Botnets are prevailing mechanisms for the facilitation of the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on computer networks or applications. Currently, Botnet-based DDoS attacks on the application layer are latest and most problematic trends in network security threats. Botnet based DDoS attacks on the application layer limits resources, curtails revenue, and yields customer dissatisfaction, among others. DDoS attacks are among the most difficult problems to resolve online, especially, when the target is the Web server. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study to show the danger of Botnet based DDoS attacks on application layer, especially on the Web server and the increased incidents of such attacks that has evidently increased recently. This provides better understanding of the problem, current solution space, and future research scope to defend against such attacks efficiently.

Key Words:  Information security, Botnet, DDoS attacks, IRC, Web server.