In this article, I would like to highlight the importance of using complex passwords when hashed with the MD5 128-bit algorithm. I will demonstrate the cracking of MD5 salted passwords using Kali Linux and a password cracking tool, John the Ripper. Cisco IOS devices use the MD5 algorithm to hash username passwords created by administrators. When weak password strings are used that are protected with MD5 they become susceptible to attacks. MD5 passwords use something called salted hash, this is a four-character phrase that is generated and combined with the password. Extracts of the following demonstration are taken from a CCNA Security lab I have been working on. It was such an informative lab, I decided to document it and share it with the SYNACK community. To carry out MD5 cracking we will use John the Ripper to crack a weak hashed password and then we will use a custom dictionary to carry out the second attack. Step 1. Produce a one-way transform (MD5 hash) using Kali Linux Open Ter...