Question

A web application developer needs to store user account passwords securely in a database. Management requires that even a database administrator with full read access cannot recover the original plaintext passwords, while the login process must still be able to verify a user-supplied password. Which cryptographic approach best meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Store each password as a salted one-way hash and compare hashes at login

Answer

Encrypt each password with a symmetric key stored on the application server

Answer

Encrypt each password with the user's asymmetric public key

Answer

Store passwords in plaintext but restrict database file permissions