Denial-of-service attack
In data communications, a denial-of-service attack (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS) is a family of attacks intended to disable a computer system by placing an unusual load on its resources. DoS describes an attack originating from a single computer, while DDoS describes an attack originating from multiple synchronized computers.
On this page
Source content checked . English translation published 2026-10-27.
In business automation
A denial-of-service attack floods a resource until the workflow or website stops responding. In automation, this can happen when a public webhook or intake interface receives a surge of requests, not only when the website server itself is attacked.
Examples
These examples illustrate a possible workflow. Adapt the connections and rules to your own systems.
Flooding a form intake endpoint
The intake address receives thousands of requests per minute after its key is leaked. Without rate limiting and a queue, processing of real leads stops. Add a limit, verify the signature, and send excess requests to a queue instead of processing everything immediately.
Relevant tools
- Datadog
- You can alert on a sharp rise in error or request rates; stopping the attack requires a limit at the gateway, not just a dashboard.
What to check
- Scaling up the machine without rate limiting only makes the flood more expensive instead of stopping it.