Password Cracking Techniques EHE Practice Questions (Page 1)

Questions 1–5

1. 1application · medium

   A company is migrating to a new authentication system and wants to store passwords securely. The security team must choose a storage mechanism that resists both rainbow table attacks and high-speed brute-force attempts. Which approach best meets this requirement?

   • AStore passwords in plaintext but restrict database access
   • BStore passwords using bcrypt with a high cost factor
   • CUse MD5 with a global salt
   • DStore passwords as unsalted SHA-256 hashes
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 2application · medium

   A small company stores user passwords in a database as unsalted MD5 hashes. A security consultant warns that this is risky because an attacker who steals the database could use precomputed tables to reverse many hashes quickly. Which countermeasure would directly address this specific vulnerability?

   • AUse a longer minimum password length
   • BAdd a unique salt to each password before hashing
   • CImplement account lockout after five failed attempts
   • DRequire users to change passwords every 90 days
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 3foundation · easy

   Which password cracking technique systematically tries every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found?

   • ABrute force attack
   • BDictionary attack
   • CRainbow table attack
   • DRule-based attack
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 4foundation · easy

   Which tool is commonly used for password cracking and supports a wide range of hash types, including GPU-accelerated attacks?

   • AHashcat
   • BNmap
   • CMetasploit
   • DWireshark
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 5expert · hard

   A security administrator is reviewing the password storage of a legacy system that uses unsalted SHA-256 hashes. The administrator is concerned about rainbow table attacks. Which countermeasure is most effective to protect against this specific threat?

   • AUse a global salt for all passwords.
   • BIncrease the minimum password length to 15 characters.
   • CMigrate to a salted hashing scheme, such as bcrypt, with a unique salt per user.
   • DStore passwords in a separate database with restricted access.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first