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CAS-004 Practice Question: A developer needs to securely store user…
A developer needs to securely store user passwords in a database. Which hashing technique is recommended for password storage?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA CASP+ often tests the misconception that adding a salt to a fast hash like SHA-256 makes it suitable for passwords, but the trap is that without a built-in work factor, the hash remains too fast for attackers to brute-force efficiently.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
bcrypt with a per-user salt
Bcrypt is recommended for password storage because it incorporates a per-user salt to prevent rainbow table attacks and uses a configurable cost factor to slow down brute-force attempts, making it resistant to GPU-based cracking. Unlike general-purpose hashes like SHA-256, bcrypt is designed specifically for password hashing with built-in salting and adaptive work factor.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SHA-256 with a random salt
Why it's wrong here
SHA-256 is fast and can be brute-forced if not iterated.
- ✓
bcrypt with a per-user salt
Why this is correct
bcrypt is slow and includes salting, resistant to rainbow tables.
- ✗
MD5 with a static salt
Why it's wrong here
MD5 is cryptographically broken and fast to compute.
- ✗
Base64 encoding
Why it's wrong here
Encoding is reversible, not a hash.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CAS-005 exam.