What is the primary aim of a denial of service attack?

The primary aim of a denial of service (DoS) attack is to overwhelm a service with excessive requests. This type of attack floods a targeted system, service, or network with a barrage of traffic, rendering it unable to respond to legitimate users. The objective is to disrupt the normal functioning of the targeted service, making it unavailable to its intended users. This disruption not only affects the ability of these users to access the service but can also lead to financial losses and damage to the organization's reputation.

In contrast, enhancing system performance and availability, preventing unauthorized access, and encrypting sensitive data pertain to positive security measures and practices aimed at protecting and maintaining the integrity and accessibility of systems and data. These are not aligned with the destructive intent behind a denial of service attack.