<s>
A	O
ping	B-General_Concept
flood	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
simple	O
denial-of-service	O
attack	O
where	O
the	O
attacker	O
overwhelms	O
the	O
victim	O
with	O
ICMP	B-Protocol
"	O
echo	B-Protocol
request	I-Protocol
"	O
(	O
ping	B-Protocol
)	O
packets	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
most	O
effective	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
flood	O
option	O
of	O
ping	B-Protocol
which	O
sends	O
ICMP	B-Protocol
packets	B-Protocol
as	O
fast	O
as	O
possible	O
without	O
waiting	O
for	O
replies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
implementations	O
of	O
ping	B-Protocol
require	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
be	O
privileged	B-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
specify	O
the	O
flood	O
option	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
most	O
successful	O
if	O
the	O
attacker	O
has	O
more	O
bandwidth	O
than	O
the	O
victim	O
(	O
for	O
instance	O
an	O
attacker	O
with	O
a	O
DSL	O
line	O
and	O
the	O
victim	O
on	O
a	O
dial-up	B-Application
modem	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
attacker	O
hopes	O
that	O
the	O
victim	O
will	O
respond	O
with	O
ICMP	B-Protocol
"	O
echo	B-Protocol
reply	I-Protocol
"	O
packets	B-Protocol
,	O
thus	O
consuming	O
both	O
outgoing	O
bandwidth	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
incoming	O
bandwidth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
ping	B-General_Concept
flood	I-General_Concept
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
diagnostic	O
for	O
network	B-Protocol
packet	I-Protocol
loss	O
and	O
throughput	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
