Password Encryption: How Do Password Encryption Methods Work?

Password Encryption: How Do Password Encryption Methods Work?

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Password Encryption: How Do Password Encryption Methods Work?

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Encryption scrambles your password so it's unreadable and/or unusable by hackers. That simple step protects your password while it's sitting in a server, and it offers more protection as your password zooms across the internet. 

Imagine that you've created the strongest password possible. Now, imagine that all of your hard work is stored in plain text on your company's server. If a hacker gets inside, what happens next? All of your efforts go to waste, and your username and password are sold on the open market to the highest bidder. 

Problems like this are common. In 2020, for example, security advocates discovered that unprotected usernames and passwords were sent to servers in China from internet-enabled doorbell systems

How Does Password Encryption Work?

Experts use terms like salt, SHA-1, and private key to describe what encryption is and how it works. The terminology can be intimidating, especially for people with no background in computer science. 

But put plainly, password encryption works by putting your original word through a series of scrambling steps.

Four main types of encryption exist.

  1. Symmetric key: Your system has a key for encryption/decry