PASSWORD CRACKING

PASSWORD CRACKING

1. Purpose

   • The purpose of password cracking might be to help a user recover a forgotten password (though installing an entirely new password is less of a security risk, but involves System Administration privileges), to gain unauthorized access to a system, or as a preventive measure by System Administrators to check for easily crackable passwords

2. Introduction/Definition

   • Password cracking is one of the oldest hacking arts. Every system must store passwords somewhere in order to authenticate users. However, in order to protect these passwords from being stolen, they are encrypted. Password cracking is the art of decrypting the passwords in order to recover them.

3. Password Cracking techniques

   • Dictionary Attack
   • Brute Force Attack
   • Rainbow table attack

4. Password Cracking Counter Measures

   • An organization can use the following methods to reduce the chances of the passwords been cracked
   • Avoid short and easily predicable passwords
   • Avoid using passwords with predictable patterns such as 11552266.
   • Most registration systems have password strength indicators, organizations must adopt policies that favor high password strength numbers.

5. Rootcause

   • Most used passwords continue to be 123456 and 123456789 despite the numerous awareness campaigns on a proper security posture, “123456” accounts for 17 per cent of the overall amount of hacked accounts the firm used as data sample.

6. Impact

   • The attacker access to files and applications and can install a backdoor, such trojan, for future access to the system.

7. Password Cracking tools

   • Brutus
   • RainbowCrack
   • Wfuzz
   • John the Ripper
   • THC Hydra
   • Medusa

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