PHP & MySQL security: one-way encryption Vs two-way encryption

Question

Hi,

I have read about using MySQL AES_ENCRYPT/AES_DECRYPT (two-way encryption) is less secure than using PHP - hash() (one-way encryption).

http://bytes.com/topic/php/answers/831748-how-use-aes_encrypt-aes_decrypt

Is it true that it is more secure that 'Rather than send the User his password, simply send him a link that he can click on to reset his password, instead.'?

And on top of that, if I am using MySQL AES_ENCRYPT/AES_DECRYPT (which I quite keen on...), how do I define the key which can be accepted by MySQL? for instance, is the length of the key important? or can I simple use '123123@123123' as my key?

thanks!

Answer 1

There is a fundamental difference between the two concepts, hashing and encryption:
Encryption can be reversed, hashing can't (at least that's the idea).

If a malicious user gains access to the passwords in a database and knows the key you used to encrypt them, they will be able to recover said passwords. If they are hashed, they won't be able to do that.

That's why passwords should be always be hashed (and salted), never encrypted.

for instance, is the length of the key important? or can I simple use '123123@123123' as my key?

AFAIK MySQL's AES_ENCRYPT can take keys of arbitrary length; but obviously shorter keys will make it easier for an attacker to bruteforce it (ie: try all possible combinations)

Answer 2

If you are storing passwords on your server with symmetric encryption, you have to decode the stored password to test it against a user-submitted password. That means the key also has to be stored on the server. Which means anyone who compromises your webapp can retrieve and decrypt every user's password. (And use them to compromise other accounts where the user has used the same password.)

Hashing a password means that you can't leak the password to an attacker because you don't even know what it is yourself. You can still check whether a submitted password is the same as the original password by hashing it using the same algorithm and salt, so you can still tell whether a submitted password is right or wrong, without having to know what the password is.

Using hashed passwords does mean you can't tell the user what their password was in a ‘recover password’ option. But you don't really want to do that anyway, especially over an insecure mechanism like e-mail. One-time, time-limited reset-password links serve the same purpose with less potential damage.

Answer 3

For passwords, one-way hashes are almost always the way to go. One-way hashes mean that there is far less likelihood that anyone but the user would be able to know their password.

If you choose the one-way route, then you'll need to set up a password reset method. If this is done correctly, it should be fairly secure for most purposes. To gain better security, you can add things like security questions (e.g., "What is your favorite color?") that the user would have to answer before receiving a password reset link in an email.

As for keys for AES_ENCRYPT/DECRYPT-- MySQL will accept variable lengths for the key parameter to the functions, but it will use a 128-bit key regardless, so it's to your advantage to pass at least 128 bits' worth.

Answer 4

Two way encryption is inherently less secure because the real data is stored somewhere. That is, you have a password "hello." Then you hash it, you get 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592. This is meaningless to a normal person and they will not know how to decrypt it without knowing the correct encryption algorithm. They cannot use this either because only the original password is used. You check a password by hashing it and comparing it to the hash (also stored). 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592 hashed is 69a329523ce1ec88bf63061863d9cb14, so they don't match. Even if a user knows the hashed password, he can't get anything out of it.

So you can store the encrypted data, but if you decrypt it when you are pulling it out then anyone can use it.

The security of sending a user a link compared to giving them the password is a different issue. If you email the password, it is printed out in plain text for all to see (and use). Giving them a link to allow them to input a new password means no one will see it which is a bit more secure, but if someone committing fraud has access to that link anyway it is going to cause problems.

About AES, I can't find out too much on it at a glance, but it looks like it doesn't matter what you encrypt. So if you use AES_DECRYPT(AES_ENCRYPT('x', 'b'), 'b'); it will return 'x'. You have to keep track of the key.