Many of today’s computer passwords are stored and transmitted in a cryptographic hashed form. A strong password hash algorithm ensures that if the password hash is obtained by unauthorized parties ...

Separate password breaches last week at LinkedIn, eHarmony and Last.fm exposed millions of credentials, and once again raised the question of whether any company can get password security right. To ...

Hashing is a one-way cryptographic function while encryption is designed to work both ways. Encryption algorithms take input and a secret key and generate a random looking output called a ciphertext.

A search for “Hash Hunters” turns up marijuana-themed t-shirts for sale. It also brings up a password-cracking outsourcing service, payable in bitcoin. Fearing data breaches, Web services often store ...

In the password security arms race, the bad guys are winning. Once-sturdy cryptographic “hashing” algorithms — pillars of online data security — are proving vulnerable to brute force attacks that use ...