Understanding Password Cracking

This publication, titled A Primer, is still a part of this conversation. Password cracking is defined as the ability to discover passwords from data that is stored or past across a computer system. It is generally considered as a threat to cybersecurity but is useful in ethical hacking and hacking attacks. However, cracking is performed using a number of methods that take advantage of vulnerabilities in the password storage or transmission process, and even human mistakes. Some of the typical forms are the trials and error situation where the intruder attempts every possible password until he gets the right one. This method is lengthy as compared to others but can be successful against minimal passwords. A somewhat more advanced approach is the so-called dictionary attack in which ready lists of most likely passwords, consisting of words from a particular language, numerical sequences, or specific phrases are utilized to try to gain access. Some of the more contemporary approaches to hacking passwords include the use of rainbow tables, which are tables that have been precomputed with the objective of reclaiming the passwords from the cryptographic hash functions. Moreover, it is important to note that all of these attacks may appear complicated, but are all possible given weak passwords or predictable patterns. Less secure passwords, such as “123456” or “password,” are considerable weak passwords, meaning that organizations should enforce strong passwords policies. The ethical hackers known as penetration testers can take advantage of password cracking software such as John the Ripper or Hashcat to discover the weak areas before the real malicious actors can do it themselves. In order to reduce the threats posed by password cracking, users and organizations should create unique and robust passwords for each of their accounts which should be relatively long and contain symbols and numbers. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the process of reinforcing the password with another form of identifying the user. Thus, password cracking is an effective tool for cybersecurity in both the defensive and the offense, yet where effective passwords and protection from data leakage are absent, it can be damaging.