Passwords are the keys to the kingdom in the digital realm. The problem is that word lists only go so far; and you will frequently need to go beyond what the word list provides. This talk will give a basic rundown of password cracking, with a focus on the use of Hashcat, some neat tricks to help you be able to crack passwords that aren’t in your word list, and building your word list. The primary objective of this talk is to give absolute beginners a basic rundown on how crack passwords beyond just using a basic word list.
Peter Clemenko III is a student at Wilmington University who has a love for password cracking. He achieved the highest individual student score at the 2014 US Cyber Challenge Delaware Cyber Camp primarily through password cracking, and is currently working on various projects involving security on both blue and red team related issues. His primary background is digital forensics, but he is working on expanding to red team as well.