A Rainbow Table Attack uses a pre-computed table for what purpose?

A Rainbow Table Attack uses a pre-computed table for what purpose?

• A. A pre-computed table of hash strings
• B. A brute-force key search
• C. A dictionary of common passwords
• D. A social engineering list

Answer: (A)

Rainbow table attacks hinge on using precomputed hash values to reverse hashed passwords. Instead of trying passwords and computing hashes one by one, the attacker consults a large precomputed table that maps hashes back to their corresponding plaintext passwords, allowing quick recovery of the original password when a matching hash is found. That’s why the correct choice describes a pre-computed table of hash strings. It isn’t about performing a brute-force search in real time, nor is it simply a dictionary of common passwords by itself, and it isn’t a social engineering list. In practice, salted hashes defeat rainbow tables because the precomputed hash-to-password mappings become invalid for each unique salt.

Rainbow table attacks hinge on using precomputed hash values to reverse hashed passwords. Instead of trying passwords and computing hashes one by one, the attacker consults a large precomputed table that maps hashes back to their corresponding plaintext passwords, allowing quick recovery of the original password when a matching hash is found. That’s why the correct choice describes a pre-computed table of hash strings. It isn’t about performing a brute-force search in real time, nor is it simply a dictionary of common passwords by itself, and it isn’t a social engineering list. In practice, salted hashes defeat rainbow tables because the precomputed hash-to-password mappings become invalid for each unique salt.