Final answer:
A DDoS attack uses a botnet to flood a target with traffic, overwhelming its resources and causing unavailability to legitimate users.
Step-by-step explanation:
The specific attack that uses a botnet to threaten availability is the b) DDoS attack (Distributed Denial of Service attack). In a DDoS attack, the botnet - a network of compromised computers controlled by an attacker, also known as 'zombies', is used to flood a server, service, or network with a massive amount of traffic, overwhelming the target's resources and making it unavailable to legitimate users.
This attack can cause significant disruption to online services and is a serious security threat to organizations and their online presence.
The specific attack that uses a botnet to threaten availability is a DDoS attack.