Password Cracking with Brute Force Algorithm and Dictionary Attack Using Parallel Programming

• Published in: Applied sciences 2023-05, Vol.13 (10), p.5979
• Main Authors: Alkhwaja, Ibrahim, Albugami, Mohammed, Alkhwaja, Ali, Alghamdi, Mohammed, Abahussain, Hussam, Alfawaz, Faisal, Almurayh, Abdullah, Min-Allah, Nasro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access control; Algorithms; brute force algorithm; Dictionaries; dictionary attack; Hashcat; Multiprocessing; Network security; Optimization techniques; parallel computing; Parallel processing; Parallel programming; password cracking; Passwords; Power; R&D; Research & development; Safety and security measures; Security management; Semiconductor industry
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app13105979

Studying password-cracking techniques is essential in the information security discipline as it highlights the vulnerability of weak passwords and the need for stronger security measures to protect sensitive information. While both methods aim to uncover passwords, both approach the task in different ways. A brute force algorithm generates all possible combinations of characters in a specified range and length, while the dictionary attack checks against a predefined word list. This study compares the efficiency of these methods using parallel versions of Python, C++, and Hashcat. The results show that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with CUDA is significantly faster than the Intel(R) HD Graphics 630 GPU for cracking passwords, with a speedup of 11.5× and 10.4× for passwords with and without special characters, respectively. Special characters increase password-cracking time, making the process more challenging. The results of our implementation indicate that parallel processing greatly improves the speed of password-cracking techniques. The brute force algorithm achieved a speedup of 1.9× with six cores, while the dictionary attack showed a speedup of 4.4× with eight-core static scheduling. Studying password-cracking techniques highlights the need for stronger security measures to protect sensitive information and the vulnerability of weak passwords.