[ISN] Hacker uses cloud computing to crack passwords

From: InfoSec News <alerts_at_private>
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:01:26 -0600 (CST)
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/mapping-babel-10017967/hacker-uses-cloud-computing-to-crack-passwords-10021067/

By Jack Clark
Mapping Babel 
ZDNet UK 
16 November, 2010

A German hacker claims to have used cloud computing to crack passwords 
stored in an algorithm that was developed by the NSA.

Hacker Thomas Roth announced on Tuesday that he has used one of Amazon 
Web Service's Cluster GPU Instances to crack the passwords encrypted in 
a Secure Hashing Algorithm (SHA1) hash.

"I think that cloud cracking can be useful in the future because of its 
massive parallel nature. You can start a 100 node cracking cluster with 
just a few clicks," Roth told ZDNet UK on Tuesday.

"GPUs are known to be the best hardware accelerator for cracking 
passwords, so I decided to give it a try: How fast can this instance 
type be used to crack SHA1 hashes? Using the [Cuda-Multiforcer], I was 
able to crack all hashes from [the 560 character SHA1 hash] with a 
password length from one to six in only 49 minutes (one hour costs $2.10 
[£1.30] by the way)," Roth wrote on his blog.

[...]


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Received on Wed Nov 17 2010 - 03:01:26 PST

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