Hashing & Password Security

Summary

Hashing turns data into a fixed-size, one-way fingerprint — used to store passwords without keeping the actual password, provided a proper algorithm (bcrypt, Argon2) and salting are used correctly.

How to Learn This

1Learn why storing plaintext passwords is a critical vulnerability, and hashing solves it.
2Understand what 'salting' does and why it defeats precomputed rainbow table attacks.
3Research why older algorithms like MD5 and SHA-1 are no longer considered secure for passwords.

Encryption Basics (Symmetric vs Asymmetric)

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

More topics in Core Security Concepts

Authentication vs Authorization Encryption Basics (Symmetric vs Asymmetric)Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)Multi-Factor Authentication Access Control Models (RBAC, ABAC)Zero Trust Architecture Security Policies & Standards Defense in Depth The CVE & CVSS System

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