The main differences between MD5 and modern password hashing algorithms like Bcrypt (which is often used through Hash::make() in Laravel) lie in their security properties:
- MD5 (Message Digest Algorithm 5):
- Algorithm: MD5 is a cryptographic hash function that produces a 128-bit (16-byte) hash value.
- Speed: It is very fast and efficient in terms of computation.
- Vulnerabilities:
- Vulnerable to collision attacks. This means that two different inputs can produce the same hash value, making it unsuitable for secure applications.
- Vulnerable to precomputed tables (rainbow tables), which can be used to quickly look up the original input of a hash.
- Usage: Due to its vulnerabilities, MD5 is considered cryptographically broken and unsuitable for further use in secure applications like password hashing.
Example: –
'password'=> md5($request['password']),- Bcrypt (used in Hash::make() in Laravel):
- Algorithm: Bcrypt (Blowfish Cryptographic Hash Function) is a key derivation function designed for securely hashing passwords.
- Speed: It is intentionally slow, making it computationally expensive and time-consuming for attackers.
- Adaptability: Bcrypt adapts to Moore’s law and increases the computational requirements as hardware becomes faster.
- Properties:
- Produces a hash value that includes the algorithm, cost factor, salt, and hash.
- The salt is unique to each password, which means that even if two users have the same password, their hash values will be different.
- Security: It is currently considered one of the best practices for password hashing and is widely recommended for secure password storage.
Example :-
'password'=> Hash::make($request['password']),In summary, MD5 is fast but insecure, while Bcrypt is intentionally slow and designed to be highly secure. When it comes to password storage, using a slow hash function like Bcrypt is crucial for security, as it makes it significantly harder for attackers to brute force or use precomputed tables to crack passwords.
