Salt and Pepper

Understanding Salt

Salt Basics

• Always use unique salts for each hash
• Generate cryptographically secure random salts
• Use appropriate salt length (at least 16 bytes)
• Store salt alongside hash value

Salt Implementation

import os
import hashlib

def generate_salt(length=16):
    return os.urandom(length)

def hash_password(password, salt):
    return hashlib.pbkdf2_hmac(
        'sha256',
        password.encode(),
        salt,
        100000  # iterations
    )

Using Pepper

Pepper Implementation

• Store pepper separately from salt and hash
• Use environment variables or secure key management
• Rotate pepper periodically
• Implement pepper rotation strategy