In such an attack, a large number of compromised systems coordinate with each other so as to direct gigantic magnitude of attack traffic toward the victim, depleting its tangible and intangible network resources.
(Mr. Patil was the home minister of Maharashtra at the time of the attacks, and resigned afterward, when a statement he made about the magnitude of the attacks drew severe criticism).
But whether the number is 6,000 or 3,000 does nothing to shrink the magnitude of the attacks in our minds or, for most of us, the justification for war.
However, the quality and magnitude of their attacks have steadily increased in brazenness -- even going so far as to use three female suicide bombers -- one of them purported to be just 10 years of age -- to make their message of female subjugation and mass terror known.
"It's going to be big, but it's too early to say how much it's going to cost because we still don't know the magnitude of the attacks," said Mark Weatherford, an security executive whose previous jobs included a senior cyber post with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"The magnitude of the attack is small," he said.
"The magnitude of this attack has been unprecedented," he said.
The sheer magnitude of the attack stunned this small and affluent community in Orange County, patrons said.
The magnitude of the attack on the church in Alexandria raised new fears regarding Egypt's stability if its Copts continued to feel threatened.
But the magnitude of the attack swept aside such concerns, and the company has decided to continue health care coverage for spouses until they die or remarry, and for their children until at least age 19, up to 26 if they are in school.
