CertNexus Certified Cyber Secure Coder (CSC) — Question 59

An attacker intercepts a hash and compares it to pre-computed hashes to crack a password. Which of the following methods has been used?

Answer options

• A. Password sniffing
• B. Brute force attack
• C. Rainbow tables
• D. Dictionary attack

Correct answer: C

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Rainbow tables, as they are specifically designed for reversing cryptographic hash functions by using pre-computed hashes. The other options, such as password sniffing and brute force attacks, do not involve the use of pre-computed tables, while a dictionary attack focuses on using a predefined list of potential passwords rather than hash comparisons.