THE AUTHOR of md5crypt(), which is used to encrypt passwords on some FreeBSD and Linux-based operating systems, has said it is no longer secure despite being recommended as a password hashing function.. Poul-Henning Kamp implemented Ronald Rivest's MD5 one-way hashing algorithm in his md5crypt() function that has been in use on FreeBSD and Linux-based operating systems for many years. Now Kamp has been forced to say that md5crypt() is no longer secure after he claimed that people were still recommending it for production use. The link for this article located at The Inquirer is no longer available. . Poul-Henning Kamp implemented Ronald Rivest's MD5 one-way hashing algorithm in his md5crypt() functi. author, md5crypt(), which, encrypt, passwords, freebsd, linux-based, operati. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
A German security enthusiast has used rented computing resources to crack a secure hashing algorithm (SHA-1) password. Thomas Roth used a GPU-based rentable computer resource to run a brute force attack to crack SHA1 hashes. . Encryption experts warned for at least five years SHA-1 could no longer be considered secure so what's noteworthy about Roth's project is not what he did or the approach he used, which was essentially based on trying every possible combination until he found a hit, but the technology he used. What used to be the stuff of distributed computing projects with worldwide participants that took many months to bear fruit can now be done by a lone individuals in minutes and using rentable resources that cost the same price as a morning coffee to carry out the trick. Roth's proof-of-concept exercise cost just $2. This was the amount needed to hire a bank of powerful graphics processing units to carry out the required number-crunching using the Cuda-Multiforcer. The link for this article located at The Register UK is no longer available. . Cryptography experts emphasize weaknesses in SHA-1; a Belgian enthusiast cracks the code leveraging budget-friendly cloud GPU services.. Hashing Algorithm, GPU Rental, SHA-1 Security, Brute Force Attack, Encryption Research. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
In a three-page research note, three Chinese scientists -- Xiaoyun Wang and Hongbo Yu of Shandong University and Yiqun Lisa Yin, a visiting researcher at Princeton University -- stated they have found a way to significantly reduce the time required to break a algorithm, known as the Secure Hashing Algorithm, or SHA-1, widely used for digital fingerprinting data files. Other cryptographers who have seen the document said that the results seemed to be genuine. . An attacker could use the flaw to create two documents or programs that have the same digital fingerprint, also known as a hash; one file could be a legitimate version of the data, while the other could be a forgery. For example, code signing -- where a program is posted online along with its SHA-1 fingerprint as a way to guarantee its integrity -- would essentially be rendered meaningless by this attack. The link for this article located at Builder AU is no longer available. . Uncover the vulnerabilities in SHA-1 that enable cybercriminals to forge identical cryptographic signatures, posing a threat to the authenticity of information.. SHA-1 Flaw, Data Integrity Risk, Cryptographic Security, Digital Encryption. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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