Which technique uses precomputed hash tables to speed password cracking?

Which technique uses precomputed hash tables to speed password cracking?

• A. Packet Sniffing
• B. Wire Sniffing
• C. Rainbow Table Attack
• D. Distributed Network Attack

Answer: (C)

Rainbow table attacks rely on precomputed hash tables to speed password cracking. The attacker builds tables that map hashes back to their original passwords by computing the hash of many candidate passwords in advance and storing the results. When a target password hash is obtained, the attacker can quickly lookup the hash in the table to reveal the original password, rather than hashing each guess on the fly. This precomputation makes the cracking process much faster, especially for common or weak passwords, though it requires enormous storage and is less effective if the hashes are salted. The other options don’t describe this precomputed-hash lookup approach: capturing traffic (packet or wire sniffing) focuses on intercepting credentials, and a distributed network attack describes spreading work across machines without inherently relying on precomputed tables.

Rainbow table attacks rely on precomputed hash tables to speed password cracking. The attacker builds tables that map hashes back to their original passwords by computing the hash of many candidate passwords in advance and storing the results. When a target password hash is obtained, the attacker can quickly lookup the hash in the table to reveal the original password, rather than hashing each guess on the fly. This precomputation makes the cracking process much faster, especially for common or weak passwords, though it requires enormous storage and is less effective if the hashes are salted. The other options don’t describe this precomputed-hash lookup approach: capturing traffic (packet or wire sniffing) focuses on intercepting credentials, and a distributed network attack describes spreading work across machines without inherently relying on precomputed tables.