The article explores methods foranalyzing password hashes using John the Ripper and Hashcat, two common cybersecurity tools.
Linux systems store password information in the /etc/shadow file, which is only accessible to privileged users.
Each shadow file entry contains password hash data and associated account details.
The password hash is created using cryptography methods such as yescrypt and sha512crypt as well as other algorithms.
John the Ripper is a versatile password-cracking tool that supports a range of hash formats, while Hashcat is a GPU-accelerated password-cracking tool that can perform high-speed cracking.
Ethical hackers and system administrators can measure system security by using these tools to uncover weak passwords.
Additionally, the article provides guidance on rule-based attacks, mask attacks, and the use of rainbow tables.
The article concludes that while the yescrypt algorithm provides strong protection, attackers with sufficient resources can still overcome it.
Thus, knowledge of password storage methods and hashing techniques is essential for achieving system security and testing system resistance levels.