Why is a DDoS attack on a mobile application almost impossible?

A mobile application is not directly susceptible to DDoS attacks in the traditional sense because it is not a server accessible from outside. The attack targets the server infrastructure (backend) with which the application interacts.

Reasons why a mobile application itself cannot be a DDoS target:

1. Lack of external IP address: The application runs on the user's device and does not have a permanent public IP address available for mass requests.
2. Limited resources: The resources of a mobile device (network, CPU, memory) are too limited to handle a large number of incoming requests typical of DDoS.
3. Interaction protocol: The application uses protocols (HTTP/S, WebSocket) for outgoing requests to the server, not for incoming requests from the internet.

The target of an attack can be:

• Backend servers: Overloading APIs, databases, microservices.
• CDN/WAF: Overloading content delivery systems or web applications.
• DNS: Overloading DNS servers responsible for resolving the backend domain name.

Thus, a DDoS attack is aimed at the availability of the service provided through the mobile application, not at the application itself.

In rare cases, malicious mobile applications can be part of a botnet conducting DDoS attacks on other services, using the resources of the user's device. This is not an attack on the application, but the use of the application for the attack.