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What is Cryptographic Salt?

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Salt is random data that is added to data before it is passed to a hash function. It is a cryptographic technique that makes hash codes more difficult to reverse.

Salt & Passwords

Passwords are typically converted to a hash value for storage on disk or a database. In this way, if an attacker accesses the passwords, they can't be used to access systems.
Reversing a hash value is extremely difficult. The most common approach that attackers take is to use a rainbow table that contains hash codes for common passwords. Adding salt to a password renders a rainbow table useless even if the salt is known to the attacker.
Overview: Cryptographic Salt
Type
Definition
Random data that is added to data before hashing.
Value
Makes hash values more difficult to reverse, even when the salt is known.
Related Concepts

Encryption

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Public Key Encryption
Strong Password
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