PassworthashingAlgorithmen

Passworthashin is a fictional password-hashing scheme used in speculative fiction, cybersecurity training simulations, and teaching materials to illustrate contemporary password security concepts. It is not a real standard, but is designed to resemble legitimate practices in modern cryptography, including the use of salts, memory-hard functions, and adjustable work factors.

Origin and purpose: In the fictional setting, Passworthashin was introduced by the Center for Secure Computing in 2025 as an educational model to show how password storage should resist offline attacks. Writers and instructors adopted it to demonstrate best practices without relying on real-world standards.

Design: The scheme uses a unique per-user salt, a server-held pepper, and a memory-hard function similar to a hypothetical PassworthHash. It supports adjustable iterations and a private pepper that is not stored with the hashes. The stored data include the hash, the salt, and the parameters to enable verification.

Security and evaluation: In-fiction analyses claim robust resistance to precomputation and parallel guessing when parameters are chosen carefully. Security depends on secure pepper management and up-to-date cost factors. Critics in the story note that pepper leakage, improper salt handling, or implementation flaws can compromise security.

Variants and influence: Variants such as Passworthashin-Prime or Passworthashin-Iterate appear in teaching scenarios, illustrating different cost models. The concept has influenced classroom exercises and game narratives by highlighting the impact of configuration choices on security.

See also: Password hashing, Salt (cryptography), Pepper (cryptography), Memory-hard function.