Cryptography secures data using math. You will decrypt symmetric shift codes, leverage rainbow tables to audit hashes, and crack salted hashes using local testing tools.
Part 1: Caesar Cipher Decryption
Symmetric Encryption (Caesar Cipher): A basic encryption method where letters are shifted forward in the alphabet. Decryption requires shifting them back by the correct key value.
INTERCEPTED CIPHERTEXT
WKH FDGHW KDV GHFRGHG WKH PHVVDJH
KEY SHIFT: 0
DECRYPTED TEXT
WKH FDGHW KDV GHFRGHG WKH PHVVDJH
✓ DECRYPTION COMPLETE! Decrypt Key: 3
Part 2: Password Hashing & Rainbow Tables
What is a Rainbow Table? Websites never store passwords in plaintext. Instead, they run passwords through a one-way mathematical function called a Hash (e.g. SHA-256). A Rainbow Table is a precomputed lookup database of dictionary words and their pre-calculated hash values. Attackers use them to translate leaked hashes back to plain passwords instantly.
Match these three leaked hashes using the Rainbow Table on the right. Decrypt them to progress!
User A
...
User B
...
User C
...
Rainbow Table Reference List
Part 3: Defeating Rainbow Tables with Salting
What is a Cryptographic Salt? To render precomputed Rainbow Tables useless, systems append a unique random string called a Salt to a password before hashing it (e.g. `hash(password + salt)`). This makes the output hash completely unique, even if two users share the same password. To crack a salted hash, attackers must brute-force the combination manually by hashing dictionary words combined with that specific user's salt.
User D: Salted Breach Audit
User D has a salted hash. Use the Salting tool on the right to test common dictionary words with User D's specific salt until you generate a matching hash!