What Is Password Salting and How It Keeps Your Information Secure

How much thought goes into your passwords? Most internet users today know that they need strong, complex, multi-value characters in their access codes. Fewer understand how their password interacts with the cybersecurity of a hosting platform or website. As far as personal cybersecurity is concerned, the longer a password is, the better the personal protection; however, having a strong password is only half of the story. 

Most platforms, especially consumer-facing ones, have high-level user protection methods, like data encryption. Typically, the better the encryption, the better the protection because threats cannot decipher the valuable information hidden by the system’s protocols. Regarding passwords, one popular method of defense is “salting.” 

Salting is becoming necessary for many companies, as the consequences (and occurrence) of brute force attacks and data breaches are higher than ever. Moreover, salting isn’t only a security practice; when utilized as a security measure, it provides a more substantial, safer environment for users and companies. So, what is salting in cyber security?

What Is Password Salting? 

Salting passwords is an advanced cybersecurity technique that broadly protects user data and the platform. As a concept, password salting is relatively easy to explain. Adding random data (the ‘salt’) to a password makes it holistically unique. After a password is salted, a platform can ‘hash’ that seasoned access code. If a hashed password passes inspection, the user can access their account; otherwise, they may be out of luck until they can prove their identity. Easy, right? 

Not really, but we’ll break it down further below. For now, it’s only important to understand two concepts: (1) hashing and (2) salted versus unsalted passwords. Let’s start with the latter concept. 

When a user creates a password, they may choose a word or phrase or a random set of data values, typically including letters and numbers. For example, the password may be “purple kangaroo”, “lovemybae2025” or some other combination—these are unsalted passwords. If a cyber threat breaks into a system, they might find these passwords and use them for various schemes later. 

In comparison, a system that uses salting security would look at these passwords and apply a random data string to them, ultimately changing them from “purple kangaroo” to “purplekangaroo%3lbv905674” or some other variation. This change is only on the system’s side, so users will never know if it applies random data to their passwords. 

After a password is salted, it can undergo hashing (as mentioned above). Hashing is not encryption; it is a one-way function that generates a unique value related to its starting point. (Encryption is a two-way process that allows particular access for specific users.) 

When a password—seasoned or not—undergoes hashing, it becomes associated with a specific value within the system. So, “purple kangaroo” may become “9-2u3ihtnsd” or something; by the same token, a salted password like “purplekangaroo%3lbv905674” could then be “-39028uorj.” In either case, the password obtains a specific hash value. Theoretically, if a cyber threat attempted to access or change these passwords, the hash value would change, signaling a cyber attack. 

Most organizations use hashing to hide and protect the authenticity of their users’ passwords. Adding salt to a password before hashing helps protect its integrity if that hash is ever breached. Salting is a preliminary security method, and even better, it helps protect against some of the nastiest cyber threats online. 

Why Is Password Salting Important? 

Hashing requires a specific set of hash values to work within a system; these values can be generated whenever, but the generated value is not random. Therefore, if a cybercriminal obtained a hashed password value, they could decipher a system’s hash values with enough time and effort. 

For example, one popular scheme is called a “rainbow table cyber attack.” These attacks crack passwords by guessing and comparing hash values against a predetermined options table. If the criminal finds a matching hash value, they can gain authentication and access a system regardless of the account’s password. How can password salting help? 

Depending on the function used, the hashing of a salted password can become unmanageable for criminals to manipulate. In practice, the differences can be extreme. Where our salted password, “purplekangaroo%3lbv905674,” could be hashed to “-39028uorj,” if we were to utilize a different hashing process, that hash could become massive; such is the case of salted passwords using a Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1).

Hashing with SHA-1 creates a 160-bit hash value (as opposed to our 10-bit value above) with accompanying digest information. What does that mean for a criminal? A near-impossible hash value determination. Add this to the salting of passwords—and organizations have better protection from criminals looking to manipulate their systems. 

In other words, password salting is important because it offers protection from brute force and precomputed attacks. It also provides enhanced security for systems with reused passwords (which is great for users who reuse passwords between accounts) and safeguards for large-scale databases. So, salted passwords are necessary in cybersecurity practices nowadays, but how do they work?  

How Does Password Salting Work? 

To understand how password salting enhances security, the first step is to generate a unique salt for each password, adding an essential layer of complexity to the hashing process.

Generating a Salt 

In the examples above, we started with a user password and then supposed the creation of a randomized salt string. Salt is generated for user accounts and passwords in the real world, usually during account creation. These salt strings can range from a few characters to over 100, as with SHA-1-protected passwords. 

Adding the Salt to the Password 

Once the salt is generated, it is combined with the user’s password. In the examples above, a supposed system added salt to the back of the “plaintext” password. However, in the real world, salt may be added anywhere within the password as long as the system can recognize the additions versus the plaintext for later verification access. 

Hashing the Salted Password 

After the salt is applied to the password, the system can process the entire data string into a hash. Hashing has many variations, like the SHA-1 algorithm. There are many different types available, each with nuances, strengths, and weaknesses. However, when properly used, hashes are an invaluable tool against cyber threats. 

Storing the Salt and Hashed Password 

Once the password is created, the salt is added, and the hash is applied, all this information is sent to and stored within an organization’s database. No one can change this data without enacting particular security methods to initiate the change. Most often, this includes a verification code sent to a device or email; without this step, the system cannot verify a user’s identity, and such unverified change requests would trigger a security alarm. 

Benefits of Password Salting 

To improve overall security and protect sensitive data, here are some key benefits of password salting:

Unique Hashes for Identical Passwords 

If you use words and phrases as access codes, how unique do you think your passwords are from another user’s? 

Password salting allows numerous users to utilize the same password because the salt adds a differentiating element. Moreover, even if usernames and passwords across profiles are identical, hashing and salting would provide enough difference to determine which users’ data and system access belong. 

Increased Difficulty for Attackers 

As mentioned above, rainbow table cyber attacks concern some organizations. There are also brute force attacks—which slam against a system’s defenses until they find an access point. Sometimes, these access points are passwords; other times, they are issues within a system’s defense, such as zero-day vulnerabilities and system side doors. Salting is beneficial because it adds so many variables to a potential password that brute force and rainbow table attacks become computationally too expensive for criminals to attempt. 

Compatibility with Stronger Hashing Algorithms 

Hashing techniques require salted passwords for the best protection; without salting, hashing can be insecure or less effective. For example, Message-Digest Algorithm 5 (MD5) is a relatively common hash, which can be insecure when improperly paired with other cyber defenses. Consequently, MD5 is not recommended for regulated industries. 

In comparison, some industries use Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC32) to generate their hashing. CRC32 algorithms create codes from a particular data set, which must match the code created by a user to verify access. Password salting is an excellent complement to CRC32 hashes, as the added variables can further defend the information from deciphers. 

Challenges and Limitations of Password Salting

Password salting significantly enhances cybersecurity. It strengthens password protection and safeguards sensitive information. Let's explore some of its key advantages. 

Storage of Salt Data 

Despite its benefits, seasoning passwords has some limitations and challenges. A common challenge with salting passwords is the ultimate storage and maintenance of the salt values alongside the original access code and its hashed value. When altering an organization’s processes, storage is necessary, mainly because systems cannot implement defenses without actionable storage plans. 

Computational Overhead 

Salting in cyber security defenses can also have computational challenges; authentication systems, in particular, face technology requirement difficulties when paired with multiple platforms—as in the case of single-sign-on options. Systems reliant upon legacy processes face a unique challenge, as automated generating and storage of salt may be too different to comply with older systems. 

Not a Standalone Solution 

Salting passwords is not the only protection organizations should consider—it is not an active defense tool as much as a delaying tactic. Salting makes deciphering information more challenging for a criminal’s toolbox, but it does not protect against all cyber threats. Password salting must be combined with other cyber defenses to protect data adequately. Organizations must implement various security measures, including salting, hashing, encryption, leveled accessibility, and multi-factor authentication. 

Password Salting vs. Other Security Techniques

Password salting is not the only security measure you can rely on. If you wonder what’s unique about it, the below information can help. 

Salting vs. Encryption 

Encryption is the most critical among the many security measures an organization should implement. As mentioned (far) above, hashing is not encryption, nor vice versa. Hashing changes a value, while encryption enfolds information inside a readability blanket. Both are essential for cyber security, but salting enhances only hashing because encryption requires predetermined code versus the randomized character generation needed by hashing. 

Salting vs. Peppering 

Of course, not all systems require salting; some use peppering instead. Peppering passwords grants a secret value to all passwords. Salting, which adds a string of variables to a password, does not give an unknown value to the original data. Peppering can be valuable in systems that require consistent password rotations. Still, it can also present challenges if threat actors determine the secret value or the system improperly records the data.

Salting Combined with Iterative Hashing 

An algorithm like CRC32 isn’t the only hashing technique that benefits from salting. When combined with iterative hashing, salted passwords can significantly improve security; such is the case with hashing techniques like Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2)—which further challenges the ability of a criminal to crack a password; Bcrypt hashing—which utilizes slow maneuvers to frustrate and foil criminals; and Argon2—which is even slower and more resource-intensive than Bcrypt, making it ideal for high-security environments. 

How You Can Improve Your Personal Password Security 

Until now, we’ve discussed passwords mainly from the system side, where salting occurs. However, salt is not enough to protect against criminal behaviors. Users must also enhance their password security, as systems develop weak points without user defenses. Internet users must generate strong password options for all their accounts, using password managers to create and maintain this information. Users should also implement multi-factor authentication across platforms to deter and prevent account takeovers. 

Although password salting is not a forethought for most cyber security discourse, it is nevertheless a data security enhancer. It is considered a robust defensive element within cyber environments but requires additional security measures to be effective. Salting benefits organizations and end users; however, salting is not a substitute for proper personal or professional password security. Consequently, users and companies must work together to protect each other from lurking online dangers.