Symmetric Key Algorithms

7. Salting

In encryption and hashing, a salt is random data that is added to the input of a one-way function (hash). The primary function of salting is to defend against dictionary attacks versus a list of password hashes and against pre-computed rainbow table attacks. A new salt is randomly generated for each hash generated. In a typical setting, the salt and the hash key are concatenated into the hash function.

Figure 4 – Adding salt to the hash function

Hashes are used to create pseudorandom numbers which can be used as a salt when hashing passwords for storage.