Hive Systems Reveals NVIDIA GPU Graphics Cards Can Crack Passwords in Record Time
Network security company Hive Systems has recently released the findings of their research on using NVIDIA GPU graphics cards to crack passwords, and the results are both impressive and concerning. Unlike other methods that use artificial intelligence to crack passwords, Hive Systems utilizes hash cracking, which involves GPU brute force calculations. In their study, they tested two encryption methods, MD5 and bcrypt, with the latter proving to be more complex and difficult to crack.
The test included popular game-level RTX graphics cards such as RTX 2080, RTX 3090, and RTX 4090, along with the professional accelerator card A100. The results showed that for MD5-encrypted pure numeric passwords, these GPUs can crack them instantly. Even passwords with only lowercase letters can be cracked almost immediately by the A100 card, with the RTX cards taking up to 6 seconds.
Passwords that include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers, are slightly more challenging to crack but still susceptible to these GPUs. For the most complex passwords that include numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols, the RTX 4090 card was able to crack them in just 59 minutes.
bcrypt encryption, on the other hand, proved to be much more resistant to cracking. A purely digital password encrypted with bcrypt could withstand the RTX 4090 for up to 9 minutes.
Despite the efficiency of these GPUs in cracking passwords, there is no need to panic. Obtaining the hash value of a password is not an easy task, and the research does not account for factors like multi-factor authentication (MFA) or the practicality of using multiple A100 cards to crack passwords.
It is important for individuals to set secure passwords that are not easily cracked, such as those that include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters along with numbers. Simple numeric passwords should be avoided, as they can be cracked almost instantly by these powerful GPUs.
While the capabilities of these GPUs are impressive, password security remains a critical aspect of cybersecurity, and individuals should take proactive measures to protect their personal information.