Ethical Hacking Questions Long
Password cracking is the process of attempting to gain unauthorized access to a system or account by deciphering the password. Ethical hackers use password cracking techniques to identify vulnerabilities in a system's password security and help organizations strengthen their defenses. There are several techniques used in ethical hacking for password cracking, including:
1. Brute Force Attack: This technique involves systematically trying every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found. It is a time-consuming process as it requires testing a large number of possibilities, but it is effective against weak passwords.
2. Dictionary Attack: In this technique, a pre-compiled list of commonly used passwords, known as a dictionary, is used to attempt to crack the password. The dictionary contains words from various languages, common phrases, and commonly used passwords. This method is faster than brute force as it eliminates the need to test every possible combination.
3. Hybrid Attack: A hybrid attack combines elements of both brute force and dictionary attacks. It involves modifying dictionary words by adding numbers, symbols, or altering the case to increase the chances of cracking the password.
4. Rainbow Table Attack: A rainbow table is a precomputed table of encrypted passwords and their corresponding plaintext forms. This technique involves comparing the hash of the target password with the entries in the rainbow table to find a match. It is a quick method but requires significant storage space to store the table.
5. Phishing: Phishing is a social engineering technique where attackers trick users into revealing their passwords by posing as a legitimate entity. This can be done through fake emails, websites, or messages that appear genuine. Ethical hackers may use phishing techniques to test the awareness and vulnerability of users within an organization.
6. Keylogging: Keyloggers are malicious software or hardware that record keystrokes on a target system. Ethical hackers may use keyloggers to capture passwords as they are entered, allowing them to gain unauthorized access to the system.
7. Shoulder Surfing: This technique involves observing the target user as they enter their password. Ethical hackers may physically or remotely monitor the user's actions to obtain the password.
It is important to note that ethical hackers must obtain proper authorization and adhere to legal and ethical guidelines when performing password cracking or any other hacking techniques. The purpose of ethical hacking is to identify vulnerabilities and help organizations improve their security, not to engage in malicious activities.