Which of the following attacks is not a network layer attack?

Question

Options

• AICMP attack
• BARP spoofing attack
• CIP spoofing attack
• DSmurf attack

• A
  16% (7)
• B
  74% (32)
• C
  7% (3)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

ARP spoofing (B) operates at the Data Link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model, not the Network layer (Layer 3). ARP resolves IP addresses to MAC addresses and works within a local network segment - it never traverses routers, which is the hallmark of a Layer 2 protocol.

The distractors are all genuine Network layer (Layer 3) attacks:

• ICMP attacks (A) exploit the Internet Control Message Protocol, which is a Layer 3 protocol used for diagnostics (ping, traceroute).
• IP spoofing (C) forges the source IP address in packet headers - IP itself is the defining Layer 3 protocol.
• Smurf attacks (D) combine IP broadcast addresses with ICMP echo requests to amplify traffic, making them entirely Layer 3 in nature.

Memory tip: Remember "ARP = Address Resolution Protocol" - it resolves down from Layer 3 IP addresses to Layer 2 MAC addresses, so it lives at Layer 2. Anything that touches IP (ICMP, Smurf, IP spoofing) stays at Layer 3.

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