What is Offline Password Cracking | Definition and Meaning

In offline password cracking, a hacker typically steals a file of hashed passwords. They are then able to run password guessing algorithms locally without any systems locking out the malicious actor as with online password cracking. They are therefore limited only by the limits of the hacker’s computational power. Offline password cracking may be trawling, where all users are atacked, or targeted, to crack the password of a specific user or group of users. Although many hashed passwords may exist in a breach, the hacker may focus computational resources on cracking the accounts of executive or admin users.

Offline Password Cracking Examples

• LastPass Breach - Hackers will most likely employ offline password cracking to crack the LastPass master passwords.