Are you confident that your passwords are strong enough to keep your data safe? Think again. With the rise of machine learning algorithms and neural networks, traditional password-cracking methods are becoming obsolete. In fact, a recent study found that artificial intelligence can crack the most common passwords in under a minute. So, what can you do to protect your business from these advanced cyber threats? Let’s take a closer look at the role of AI in password cracking and explore some best practices for keeping your business data secure.
Traditional Password-Cracking Methods and Their Limitations
Traditional password-cracking methods include brute force, dictionary attacks, and rainbow tables. Brute force attacks involve trying every possible combination of letters, numbers, and characters until the correct password is found. This method is time-consuming and can take months or even years to crack complex passwords. Dictionary attacks use pre-existing wordlists to guess passwords based on common words and phrases. While this method is faster than brute force, it’s not effective against strong passwords that don’t contain dictionary words. Rainbow tables are pre-computed tables of possible passwords and their corresponding hashes. When a hash is obtained, it can be compared to the rainbow table to find the original password. However, rainbow tables require a lot of storage space and are ineffective against salted passwords (passwords that have additional random data added to them).
AI-Based Password Cracking
AI-based password cracking involves the use of machine learning algorithms and neural networks to analyze data and generate more effective password-cracking strategies. Neural network algorithms use the knowledge gained through attempts at cracking to adjust their techniques to find passwords effectively and more accurately. With the continuous learning capabilities of AI, their techniques become more advanced over time, making it increasingly difficult for organizations to stay secure.
The PassGAN Test
A recent study by Home Security Heroes, found that artificial intelligence can crack most common passwords in under a minute. They used PassGAN, a machine learning-based AI password cracker, and gave it 15,680,000 commonly used passwords from the RockYou data set. This data set was previously hacked years ago, exposing millions of unencrypted passwords, and has since become a popular data set for security research. The test excluded passwords that were shorter than four or longer than 18 characters. The results showed that PassGAN was able to crack 51% of those passwords in less than one minute. In just an hour, PassGAN decoded 65% of the passwords, and after about a day, it successfully cracked 71%. The AI took another month to boost its success rate to 81%.
How to Protect Your Business
To protect your business from AI-based password cracking, it’s essential to use strong passwords containing a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Additionally, two-factor authentication should be enabled whenever possible to add an extra layer of security. It’s also a best practice to change passwords often and avoid reusing them across different accounts.
AI technology has provided cybercriminals with advanced tools to bypass security measures and breach critical and confidential information. It’s more important than ever to use strong security measures to protect sensitive data. As technology continues to evolve, so do the methods used by hackers. By staying vigilant and taking the necessary precautions, you can help keep business information safe.
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Atlantic is an award-winning office technology and IT solutions company providing Imaging Products, IT Support, Document Management, Cybersecurity and Managed Services to small and large companies in the New York City metropolitan area, and the Greater Philadelphia and Delaware Valley.
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