Which of the following is a method to mitigate Denial of Service (DoS) attacks?

Preparing a response strategy is a crucial method for mitigating Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. Such a strategy involves establishing an organized and systematic approach to detecting, responding to, and recovering from DoS incidents. This preparation can include creating specific action plans, allocating resources for swift response, identifying key personnel, and implementing appropriate technologies to monitor network traffic for unusual patterns indicative of an attack. Having a predefined response strategy enables organizations to act quickly and effectively to minimize the impact of such attacks on their operations.

By contrasting this with the other options, ignoring the attacks is counterproductive, as it allows potential threats to go unmitigated and can result in significant downtime or loss of service. Increasing data rates may temporarily alleviate some effects during an attack, but it does not fundamentally address or resolve the issue of an ongoing attack aimed at overwhelming the system. Reducing network size could be a measure for limiting exposure but may not necessarily address vulnerabilities and can lead to impaired operational capabilities. Thus, a comprehensive response strategy is essential for a robust defense against DoS attacks.