What is the Effectiveness of Salt and Pepper in Preventing Rainbow Table Attacks in Modern Password Hashing Algorithms?

Abstract

Password security remains a critical concern in the digital age, as attackers continuously evolve their techniques to crack password databases. Among the most effective defenses against these threats are salt and pepper, two cryptographic techniques used to enhance password hashing security. Salt introduces unique, random values to each password, ensuring that even identical passwords result in different hashes, while pepper adds a hidden system-wide secret to further complicate attacks. This paper explores how salt and pepper work together to defend against rainbow table attacks, significantly increasing the complexity for attackers attempting to reverse-engineer password hashes. While these techniques provide strong protection, they are not foolproof and must be paired with additional security measures such as key-stretching algorithms and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to offer comprehensive defense. The paper also examines the limitations of salt and pepper and suggests future advancements, such as post-quantum cryptography and passwordless authentication, as potential pathways to further improve password security.