Understanding Salted and Unsalted Password Hashes in Cyber Security

What is a Salted and Unsalted Password Hash?

In the world of cyber security, password hashes play a crucial role in storing passwords securely. When it comes to password hashes, two common terms you may come across are salted and unsalted password hashes.

Salted Password Hash:

A salted password hash involves adding a random data (salt) to the password before hashing it. This salt adds complexity and uniqueness to each hashed password, making it more secure. In case of a data breach, using salted password hashes makes it much harder for cyber criminals to crack the passwords.

Unsalted Password Hash:

On the other hand, an unsalted password hash is a plain hash of the password without any additional random data. Unsalted password hashes are more vulnerable to attacks such as rainbow table attacks, where hackers use precomputed tables of hash values to quickly crack passwords.

It's always recommended to use salted password hashes to enhance the security of user passwords and safeguard sensitive information.