During a DDoS attack, which types of infections are the source of traffic most likely infected?

In a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, the source of traffic is primarily comprised of "zombies." Zombies refer to devices that have been compromised and are under the control of an attacker, often as part of a botnet. These devices are typically infected by malware and can be used to send large volumes of malicious traffic to a targeted server or network, overwhelming it and causing disruption.

Zombies are particularly significant in DDoS attacks because they can encompass a large number of infected devices, allowing attackers to leverage their combined resources to generate a significant amount of traffic. This capability is what makes DDoS attacks effective, as the distributed nature of the attack complicates efforts to mitigate the incoming traffic.

Other types of malware mentioned, such as spyware, viruses, and ransomware, do not serve the same role in generating traffic for DDoS attacks. Spyware typically focuses on spying on user activity or stealing information; viruses aim to replicate and spread but are not specifically designed for DDoS attacks; and ransomware's purpose is to encrypt files and demand payment for recovery, rather than generating outbound traffic to a target. Thus, the nature of zombies directly aligns with the mechanisms of a DDoS attack.