Which form of DoS is known as phlashing and sabotages hardware, often requiring hardware replacement?

• A. DRDoS Attack
• B. Permanent DoS (PDoS) Attacks
• C. Slowloris
• D. Single-Session HTTP Flood Attack

Answer: (B)

Permanent DoS (PDoS) describes attacks that cause irreversible damage to hardware or its firmware, so a simple reboot won’t restore functionality. Phlashing is a specific PDoS technique that targets device firmware by flashing corrupted or malicious code into flash memory, often bricking the device and requiring hardware replacement or repair. This makes phlashing distinct from floods or resource-exhaustion attacks, which aim to degrade services without permanently destroying hardware. Phlashing commonly affects embedded devices with flashable firmware, such as routers and other networked equipment.