Understanding Hashed Passwords: A Fundamental Concept in Cyber Security

In the realm of cyber security, one of the fundamental concepts that individuals come across is hashed passwords. But what exactly are hashed passwords and why are they crucial for safeguarding sensitive information online?

When you create an account on a website or service, the platform stores your password in a hashed format rather than in plain text. Hashing is a process where an algorithm takes your password and converts it into a unique string of characters of a fixed length. This process is designed to be one-way, meaning it is computationally infeasible to reverse the hash to obtain the original password.

Hashed passwords play a vital role in protecting user data in the event of a security breach. Even if a hacker gains access to the stored passwords, they would only see the hashed values, not the actual passwords. This adds an extra layer of security, making it harder for cybercriminals to exploit stolen information.