When is hashing used?
Hashing is a cryptographic process that can be used to validate the authenticity and integrity of various types of input. It is widely used in authentication systems to avoid storing plaintext passwords in databases, but is also used to validate files, documents and other types of data.
Which password hash should I use?
Passwords should be hashed with either PBKDF2, bcrypt or scrypt, MD-5 and SHA-3 should never be used for password hashing and SHA-1/2(password+salt) are a big no-no as well. Currently the most vetted hashing algorithm providing most security is bcrypt.
Can a hash function be used to protect passwords?
A hashing function takes arbitrary inputs and transforms them into outputs of a fixed length. To qualify as a cryptographic hash function, a hash function must be pre-image resistant and collision resistant. Due to rainbow tables, hashing alone is not sufficient to protect passwords for mass exploitation.
How to integrate hashing in the password storage workflow?
To integrate hashing in the password storage workflow, when the user is created, instead of storing the password in cleartext, we hash the password and store the username and hash pair in the database table. When the user logs in, we hash the password sent and compare it to the hash connected with the provided username.
Are there infinite number of ways to hash a password?
There is an infinite number of values that could be substituted for x and y for x mod y to return 2: 7 mod 5 = 2 9 mod 7 = 2 2 mod 3 = 2 10 mod 8 = 2 When using a cryptographic hash function, we must not be able to find a pre-image by looking at a hash.
How can MITM attacks be detected and prevented?
MITM attacks can be detected or prevented by two means: authentication and tamper detection. Authentication provides a degree of certainty that a given message has come from a valid source. A public key infrastructure, such as TLS, can harden Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) against MITM attacks.