The protection of passwords from unauthorized access is known as what?

The protection of passwords from unauthorized access is known as what?

• A. Password privacy
• B. Password reset process
• C. Password history
• D. Plain text vs cipher text

Answer: (A)

Keeping passwords secret from anyone who shouldn’t see them is password privacy. This concept focuses on safeguarding credentials so only authorized users can authenticate, which is achieved by not storing passwords in plain text and by using secure storage methods (like salted hashes), along with proper access controls and encryption in transit. The other terms describe related activities or concepts but don’t capture the act of protecting passwords themselves: changing a password is a reset process; tracking previously used passwords is password history; and plain text versus cipher text is about how data is encoded or stored, not specifically the ongoing protection of passwords.

Keeping passwords secret from anyone who shouldn’t see them is password privacy. This concept focuses on safeguarding credentials so only authorized users can authenticate, which is achieved by not storing passwords in plain text and by using secure storage methods (like salted hashes), along with proper access controls and encryption in transit. The other terms describe related activities or concepts but don’t capture the act of protecting passwords themselves: changing a password is a reset process; tracking previously used passwords is password history; and plain text versus cipher text is about how data is encoded or stored, not specifically the ongoing protection of passwords.