In a Smurf attack, ping requests are sent to the broadcast address to cause many devices to respond to the spoofed target.

In a Smurf attack, ping requests are sent to the broadcast address to cause many devices to respond to the spoofed target.

• A. In a Smurf attack, ping requests are sent to the broadcast address to cause many devices to respond to the spoofed target.
• B. To directly ping the attacker.
• C. To update routing tables.
• D. To test connectivity.

Answer: (A)

Smurf attacks rely on abusing ICMP Echo Requests sent to a network's broadcast address, which makes many devices respond to a spoofed target. The spoofed source IP makes all those replies go to the victim, creating a large amount of amplified traffic that can overwhelm the target’s bandwidth or resources. In modern networks, directed broadcasts are often blocked or filtered to prevent this, reducing the risk of Smurf amplification. The other ideas don’t fit because pinging the attacker wouldn’t cause the target to be flooded, updating routing tables is about network maintenance, and testing connectivity is simply diagnostic and does not aim to overwhelm a victim.

Smurf attacks rely on abusing ICMP Echo Requests sent to a network's broadcast address, which makes many devices respond to a spoofed target. The spoofed source IP makes all those replies go to the victim, creating a large amount of amplified traffic that can overwhelm the target’s bandwidth or resources. In modern networks, directed broadcasts are often blocked or filtered to prevent this, reducing the risk of Smurf amplification. The other ideas don’t fit because pinging the attacker wouldn’t cause the target to be flooded, updating routing tables is about network maintenance, and testing connectivity is simply diagnostic and does not aim to overwhelm a victim.