Password Cracking Methods

Password cracking tests how well an organization's authentication defenses hold up against real-world attack techniques.

Brute Force Attacks

A brute force attack systematically tries every possible character combination until the correct password is found. It's slow but effective against short or simple passwords with no lockout policy in place.

Dictionary Attacks

Dictionary attacks use a pre-built list of common passwords and variations, exploiting the fact that many users still choose predictable, easily guessable passwords.

Hash Cracking and Rainbow Tables

Since passwords are typically stored as hashes rather than plain text, testers often work with captured hash values, using precomputed rainbow tables or GPU-accelerated cracking tools to reverse them.

Why Organizations Test This

Password cracking assessments reveal weak password policies before an attacker can exploit them, pushing organizations toward stronger authentication practices like multi-factor authentication.