SSCP Network and Communications Security Practice Question
Which attack sends a flood of forged ICMP echo requests to a network's broadcast address to overwhelm a target?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Smurf attack
A Smurf attack sends ICMP echo requests with the victim's spoofed source IP to the broadcast address, causing all hosts to reply to the victim, amplifying traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ping of death
Why it's wrong here
Ping of death uses oversized packets, not amplification.
- ✓
Smurf attack
Why this is correct
Smurf attack leverages broadcast amplification.
- ✗
SYN flood
Why it's wrong here
SYN flood uses TCP SYN packets, not ICMP.
- ✗
DNS amplification
Why it's wrong here
DNS amplification uses DNS queries, not ICMP.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SSCP exam.