How Password Hashing Algorithms Work and Why You Never Ever Write Your Own
Are you fascinated with cryptography? You're not alone: a lot of engineers are. Occasionally, some of them decide to go as far as to write their own custom cryptographic hash functions and use them in real-world applications. While understandably enticing, doing so breaks the number 1 rule of the security community: don't write your own crypto. How do hashing algorithms work and what's special about password hashing? What does it take for an algorithm to get ready for widespread production use?