IP Address Spoofing is best described as what?

IP Address Spoofing is best described as what?

• A. Attacker floods the network
• B. Attacker changes the IP address
• C. Attacker changes the port number
• D. Attacker changes the MAC address

Answer: (B)

IP address spoofing is when an attacker makes packets appear as if they come from a different IP address than the one truly sending them. This is achieved by altering the source IP field in the IP header, so the recipient’s system sees the spoofed address as the sender. The idea focuses on the identity presented at the network layer, not on transport or link-layer details. This differs from changing the port number, which operates at the transport layer (TCP/UDP) and affects the specific service being used, not who the packet claims to be from. It also differs from changing the MAC address, which is a link-layer (LAN) concern used to identify devices on the local network. IP spoofing exploits the trust and routing decisions at the IP layer, often to hide the attacker’s location, bypass simple IP-based access controls, or direct responses to a different system (as in reflection attacks). Understanding this helps explain why defenses focus on filtering spoofed addresses at network borders and validating source IPs to prevent packets with forged origins from propagating through the network.

IP address spoofing is when an attacker makes packets appear as if they come from a different IP address than the one truly sending them. This is achieved by altering the source IP field in the IP header, so the recipient’s system sees the spoofed address as the sender. The idea focuses on the identity presented at the network layer, not on transport or link-layer details.

This differs from changing the port number, which operates at the transport layer (TCP/UDP) and affects the specific service being used, not who the packet claims to be from. It also differs from changing the MAC address, which is a link-layer (LAN) concern used to identify devices on the local network. IP spoofing exploits the trust and routing decisions at the IP layer, often to hide the attacker’s location, bypass simple IP-based access controls, or direct responses to a different system (as in reflection attacks).

Understanding this helps explain why defenses focus on filtering spoofed addresses at network borders and validating source IPs to prevent packets with forged origins from propagating through the network.