What is BCrypt encryption?

During the assignment in the most recent course, I was very struggling to choose a suitable solution to encrypt sensitive user information before saving it into the database with the requirement to ensure safety and security. confidential but also needed high performance until Google introduced me to BCrypt. After using and working with BCrypt, I was really impressed with the simplicity, security and performance it brings, so today I would like to talk to you a little bit about BCrypt.

What is BCrypt encryption?

BCrypt is a widely used cryptographic hashing algorithm for securely storing passwords. It uses the Blowfish encryption algorithm, designed by Bruce Schneier in 1993. BCrypt is especially popular among the web developer community thanks to its strong security and performance in protecting sensitive data. user feelings.

BCrypt is a key derivation function (KDF) designed to hash passwords. Unlike traditional hash algorithms such as MD5 and SHA-1, BCrypt is designed to be slow and computationally resource-intensive. This is an intentional security measure to prevent brute-force and rainbow table attacks.

BCrypt highlights:

• First is the ability to edit: BCrypt allows developers to tune the computational performance of password hashing by modifying the “factors” parameter. This parameter determines the number of iterations the algorithm performs, thereby controlling the time and resources required for the hashing process. When hardware is upgraded, for example, and computing power increases, you can easily increase the factors to increase the security level.
• The second thing is the ability to generate Salt automatically: BCrypt automatically generates a random salt value for each password hash. Salt is a unique random value for each password, preventing attackers from using precomputed tables (rainbow tables) to easily break multiple passwords at once.
• Third, and this is cool, is the ability to resist Brute-Force attacks: BCrypt's computational efficiency makes brute-force attacks impractical. Even with powerful hardware, it takes an attacker an incredible amount of time and resources to crack a single password.

I tried changing all user passwords to the same character, such as “a”. But when checking the results in the database, more than 100 hash data fields do not have any of the same.

• The key interesting point is Cryptographic security: BCrypt uses the Blowfish encryption algorithm, a powerful cryptographic algorithm. This ensures that the password hashes generated by BCrypt are resistant to cryptographic attacks.

The advantages make BCRYPT a popular encryption type

• BCrypt significantly improves password storage security compared to older hashing algorithms like MD5 and SHA-1. By using custom hashes and salts, BCrypt mitigates common vulnerabilities such as rainbow table and brute-force attacks.
• BCrypt is available in most modern programming languages ​​and frameworks through libraries and modules. Integrating BCrypt into web applications is a simple process that does not require much effort on the part of the programmer.
• BCrypt's flexibility allows developers to adjust factors to accommodate changes in hardware and computing power. This ensures that the password hashing process remains secure even as technology advances.
• BCrypt follows industry best practices for secure password storage, as recommended by organizations such as OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project). Using BCrypt demonstrates a commitment to security and compliance with established standards.

BCrypt is a very efficient cryptographic hashing algorithm that provides significant advantages to web developers who need to securely store passwords. Its flexibility, resistance to attacks, and ease of integration make it the preferred choice for protecting sensitive user data in web applications. So in upcoming projects, if you need to secure user data, please consider using BCrypt right away.

Tu Nguyen – Group Dev, where are we going?