Password Cracking and Countermeasures in Computer Security: A Survey Aaron L.-F. Han*^ Derek F. Wong* Lidia S. Chao* * 푁퐿푃2퐶푇 Lab, University of Macau, Macau SAR ^ ILLC, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 107, 1098 XG Amsterdam
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Abstract—With the rapid development of internet technologies, communicating entities. The peer entity authentication social networks, and other related areas, user authentication provides for the corroboration of the identity of a peer entity becomes more and more important to protect the data of the in an association for use of a connection at the establishment users. Password authentication is one of the widely used or at times during the data transfer phase, which attempts to methods to achieve authentication for legal users and defense provide confidence that an entity is not performing either a against intruders. There have been many password cracking masquerade or an unauthorized replay of a previous methods developed during the past years, and people have connection. been designing the countermeasures against password There are usually four means of authenticating user cracking all the time. However, we find that the survey work identity based on: something the individual knows (e.g. on the password cracking research has not been done very password, PIN, answers to prearranged questions), much. This paper is mainly to give a brief review of the password cracking methods, import technologies of password something the individual possesses (token, e.g. smartcard, cracking, and the countermeasures against password cracking electronic keycard, physical key), something the individual is that are usually designed at two stages including the password (static biometrics, e.g.