Password Cracking Techniques EHE Practice Questions (Page 6)

Questions 26–30

1. 26foundation · easy

   What is the main advantage of a dictionary attack over a brute force attack?

   • AIt can crack any password regardless of length.
   • BIt is faster because it only tries likely passwords from a wordlist.
   • CIt works without needing the password hash.
   • DIt guarantees success for any password.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 27foundation · easy

   Why are hybrid attacks often more successful than simple dictionary attacks?

   • AThey use precomputed tables, making them faster than dictionary attacks.
   • BThey account for common password patterns like adding a number or symbol to a base word.
   • CThey are guaranteed to crack any password that contains a dictionary word.
   • DThey try every possible character combination, so they never miss a password.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 28foundation · easy

   What is the primary purpose of password cracking in a security assessment?

   • ATo encrypt all stored passwords so that they cannot be read by unauthorized users.
   • BTo bypass authentication mechanisms by directly modifying the authentication server's database.
   • CTo recover plaintext passwords from hashed credentials so that weak passwords can be identified and remediated.
   • DTo create new user accounts with known passwords for future access to the system.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 29expert · hard

   A security architect is designing a password storage system for a cloud application. The system must protect against offline cracking if the database is breached, but also must not introduce excessive latency for user logins. Which approach best balances security and performance?

   • AUse a fast hash like SHA-256 with a unique salt
   • BUse a global salt with MD5
   • CUse bcrypt with a moderate cost factor
   • DUse plaintext storage with database encryption
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 30foundation · easy

   Which of the following is an example of a rule-based transformation?

   • ATrying every possible combination of letters and numbers.
   • BAppending the current year to a dictionary word, such as 'Summer2024'.
   • CUsing a list of passwords leaked from previous breaches.
   • DUsing a precomputed table of hashes for common passwords.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first