Password Strength Assessment on a Laptop Device using an Online Password Recovery Tool — Cain & Abel

Abstract

Password cracking procedures are often done using password recovery tools, this has led to attackers using the same technique to obtain access to weak frameworks and infrastructures. The study conducted two trials of strength assessment for (1) weak password and (2) strong password using a Cain & Abel to show the potential risks of both passwords. Two procedures were used for the strength assessment: brute force and dictionary attacks. The findings of this study shows that passwords containing only uppercase and lowercase letters with numbers (3 to 8 characters) are easily exploited. The study concluded that using strong passwords prevent potential cybersecurity attacks because strong passwords require more resources, power, and time to hack.