Fraggle Attack: Definition, Damage, Defense & vs. Smurf

A Fraggle attack is similar to a Smurf attack.

These are both denial-of-service (DoS) techniques that aim to flood your system. But a Smurf attack involves sending internet control message protocol (ICMP) packets instead, whereas a Fraggle attack uses UDP protocol. Everything else is the same. 

With a Fraggle attack, the problem starts when a large amount of spoofed user datagram protocol (UDP) traffic comes to your router’s broadcast address. Your server tries to respond, but the flood of packets continues. In time, your server seizes up due to the added activity. 

How does a Fraggle attack work? 

Plenty of companies use UDP to speed up their work and keep data flowing. If you do, you could be at risk for a Fraggle problem. 

UDP speeds up communication between two systems. The systems don't need to establish formal ties or exchange credentials before the data starts flowing. One system points to another, and the first sends packets to the recipient. 

UDP is useful when you need to send a large amount of