A 3-Lock based Password Hashing Algorithm

Password has become a predominating method for user authentication to gain access to restricted services. Most people use human-memorable passwords that are likely words in dictionaries or certain combinations of these words, which are easy to crack. The biggest problem with passwords is its strength. We introduce a 3-lock based password hashing algorithm which minimizes the fraction of password that would be cracked by an offline attacker without increasing computing time for a legitimate authentication server. It strengthens the user's weak password, by improving the character set from which password is selected. 3-lock based password hashing algorithm uses 3 locks consisting of various printable ASCII characters and an integer provided by the user. This integer is never stored in server's database. Finally, we analyze 3-lock based password hashing algorithm using RockYou password dataset. Our analysis shows that the proposed algorithm can reduce (up to 25%) fraction of password cracked by an offline attacker.