A Rainbow Table Attack uses a pre-computed table for what purpose?

• A. A pre-computed table of hash strings
• B. A brute-force key search
• C. A dictionary of common passwords
• D. A social engineering list

Answer: (A)

Rainbow table attacks hinge on using precomputed hash values to reverse hashed passwords. Instead of trying passwords and computing hashes one by one, the attacker consults a large precomputed table that maps hashes back to their corresponding plaintext passwords, allowing quick recovery of the original password when a matching hash is found. That’s why the correct choice describes a pre-computed table of hash strings. It isn’t about performing a brute-force search in real time, nor is it simply a dictionary of common passwords by itself, and it isn’t a social engineering list. In practice, salted hashes defeat rainbow tables because the precomputed hash-to-password mappings become invalid for each unique salt.