Understanding Salt in Password Hashing for Improved Cyber Security

When it comes to protecting our online accounts and sensitive information, using strong and unique passwords is essential. However, even the strongest passwords can be vulnerable to attacks if they are not properly hashed. This is where the concept of 'salt' in password hashing comes into play.

Salt is a random value that is added to passwords before they are hashed. This extra layer of security helps defend against various types of cyber attacks, such as rainbow table attacks and dictionary attacks.

By incorporating salt into the hashing process, each user's password is unique, even if they have the same password as someone else. This means that even if two users have the same password, the hashed versions will be different due to the unique salt.

Overall, salt adds an additional level of complexity to the password hashing process, making it more difficult for cyber criminals to crack passwords and gain unauthorized access to accounts.