What is the main purpose of a denial-of-service attack?

The main purpose of a denial-of-service attack is to disrupt service availability. This type of attack aims to make a computer, network, or service unavailable to its intended users by overwhelming it with a flood of illegitimate requests or by exploiting vulnerabilities to crash the system. The ultimate goal is to deny legitimate users access to the service, which can lead to loss of productivity, revenue, and trust in the affected service. It is specifically designed to interfere with the functioning of a service rather than to compromise data integrity or confidentiality, which is why it focuses on availability. This distinguishes it from other types of cyber attacks that might aim at stealing information or gaining unauthorized access.