Safeguarding Personal Health Information: Case Study

Abstract

Password cracking tools have given hackers the ability to solve hashes in minutes. These same tools can also be used for penetration testing to determine weak passwords within our own infrastructure. In using products, such as, Cain and Abel or Ophcrack, organizations can gain insight and awareness that could be the stronghold in keeping accounts and personal health information (PHI) safe. Cain and Abel, and Ophcrack, which are the two password cracking tools tested, can be both useful and very dangerous at the same time. While many can learn from these products, so can their adversaries. In using these products to test our own password strengths we can foresee vulnerabilities that we may have been overlooked. As new software is created, passwords will become easier to crack. Technology knows no boundaries in many aspects, which is why securing our networks, strengthening our physical and logical security, and mitigating every risk possible, becomes of utmost importance in this technology-ridden world.