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Hashcat Final 1

Hashcat is a powerful password recovery tool used for cracking hashed passwords through various techniques such as brute-force, dictionary, and hybrid attacks. It supports multiple hash types including MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, bcrypt, and argon2, making it essential for penetration testing and digital forensics. Hashcat's versatility and efficiency aid security professionals in identifying vulnerabilities in password storage systems.

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1 views

Hashcat Final 1

Hashcat is a powerful password recovery tool used for cracking hashed passwords through various techniques such as brute-force, dictionary, and hybrid attacks. It supports multiple hash types including MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, bcrypt, and argon2, making it essential for penetration testing and digital forensics. Hashcat's versatility and efficiency aid security professionals in identifying vulnerabilities in password storage systems.

Uploaded by

abhufkndo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HASHCAT

HASHCAT
HASHCAT
HOW IS
PASSWORD
CRACKED ?
COMMON PASSWORD CRACKING
TECHNIQUES

Password attack involves attempting to


retrieve the plaintext password from its
hashed, encrypted or otherwise protected
forms. Password cracking involves several
techniques. These include brute-force
attacks, dictionary attacks, and rainbow
tables. Each method targets weaknesses in
password security.

2
OVERVIEW OF

HASHCAT
HASHCAT
Hashcat is a powerful password recovery tool
used to crack hashed passwords. It is an
advanced password cracking tool used for
penetration testing and digital forensics in the
realm of cybersecurity. Hashcat employs various
algorithms and attack modes to break hashed
WHAT IS passwords, assisting security professionals in
identifying vulnerabilities in password storage
HASHCAT ? systems. It is capable of cracking many types of
hashes, including MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256,
bcrypt, LM hashes. It supports various
algorithms and is well-known for its flexibility
and speed.

3
TYPES AND SUPPORTED HASHES
This table summarizes various hash types supported by Hashcat.
Each hash type is explained with examples and its general use.
Understanding these hashes is key to effective cracking.

HASH TYPE DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

MD5 Widely used, fast but insecure hashes web passwords

More secure than MD5, but


SHA-1 used in SSL certificates
vulnerable

SHA-256 Secure, used in cryptocurrency bitcoin wallets

bcrypt Adaptive hashing function secure password storage

Winner of the Password Hashing latest standard for password


argon2
Competition hashing

4
HASHCAT
TYPES OF ATTACK

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

Advanced attacks such as combinatorial, rule-based, and hybrid methods combine


different strategies. These techniques significantly improve cracking efficiency
against complex passwords.

COMMON ATTACK TYPES

Hashcat supports various attack modes, including brute-force, mask, and dictionary attacks. Each
method has its strengths and is chosen based on the hashing algorithm and password complexity.

5
1. DICTIONARY ATTACK:
The dictionary attack is one of the most commonly used methods in Hashcat. In this approach, Hashcat uses a
wordlist (often called a dictionary) containing a large number of possible passwords. The tool hashes each word
from the dictionary and compares the results with the target hash. If a match is found, Hashcat successfully cracks the
password.

2. BRUTE FORCE ATTACK:


In a brute-force attack, Hashcat tries every possible combination of characters until it finds the correct one. This is
the most computationally expensive attack method because it does not rely on predefined wordlists, and instead tests

TYPES OF ATTACK
all combinations of characters.

3. RULE BASED ATTACK:


Hashcat also supports rule-based attacks, which enhance dictionary attacks by applying specific rules to modify
each word in the dictionary. These rules can be simple or complex, such as appending digits, changing case, or adding
special characters. This increases the likelihood of cracking passwords that follow common patterns.

4. MASK ATTACK:
A mask attack is a hybrid approach that combines the efficiency of dictionary attacks with the versatility of brute-
force. Instead of testing all possible combinations, it focuses on specific patterns or known characteristics of the
password.

5. HYBRID ATTACK:
A hybrid attack combines multiple attack methods to maximize the chances of cracking a password. For example, a
hybrid attack might use a dictionary-based approach combined with a brute-force attack to append or prepend
specific characters to dictionary words.
HASHCAT
USES OF HASHCAT

ETHICAL HACKING AND FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS RESEARCH AND


SECURITY AUDITS DEVELOPMENT
Ethical hackers use Hashcat to In forensic contexts, Hashcat Researchers use Hashcat to
audit password strength within assists investigators in recovering explore cryptographic weaknesses
organizations, ensuring passwords from compromised and develop stronger hashing
compliance with security systems, aiding in criminal algorithms, pushing the
policies and uncovering investigations and data retrieval. boundaries of password security
vulnerabilities beforehand. and recovery techniques.

7
HASHCAT
CONCLUSION
SUMMARY AND BEST PRACTICES

In conclusion, Hashcat stands out as a highly effective and


versatile tool in the cybersecurity landscape, offering
powerful capabilities for password cracking and vulnerability
assessment. Its wide range of supported hashing algorithms,
along with various attack modes such as dictionary, brute-
force, and hybrid attacks, make it an indispensable resource
for penetration testers, ethical hackers, and digital forensics
experts.

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