Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What type of password attack is characterized by attempting to gain unauthorized access through the use of precomputed hashed values?

1. Brute-force attack

2. Rainbow table attack

3. Password guessing

4. Phishing attack

The correct answer is: Rainbow table attack

A rainbow table attack is characterized by using precomputed hashed values to crack passwords. In this type of attack, an attacker creates a large table filled with the hashes of common passwords along with their corresponding plain-text counterparts. When the attacker intercepts or obtains a hash from a target system, they can quickly look it up in the rainbow table to find the original password. This method is efficient because it saves time compared to calculating the hash for potential passwords on the fly, allowing the attacker to exploit weak passwords effectively. Using precomputed hash values signifies that the attacker has put in considerable effort upfront to create the table, which makes the actual attack process much faster once the target is identified. This approach highlights the importance of using strong, unique passwords and appropriate hashing techniques, such as salting, to defend against such attack methods. In contrast, other types of attacks, such as brute-force attacks, involve trying every possible combination of characters to find the correct password directly without relying on precomputed data. Password guessing relies on human intuition or common passwords rather than precomputed hashes, and phishing attacks focus on tricking users into providing their credentials rather than cracking hashes.