Python: how to use bcrypt for encrypting passwords

Python: how to use bcrypt for encrypting passwords

bcrypt is a widely used password hashing library in Python to ensure the security of user passwords.

bcrypt is a widely used password hashing library in Python to ensure the security of user passwords. This library uses a robust and future-proof hash algorithm, known as Blowfish, which is resilient to attempts to crack passwords via brute force attacks.

Using bcrypt in Python is quite simple. First, you need to install the bcrypt library using Python's package manager, such as pip. Once installed, you can import the bcrypt module into your Python script.

To hash a password, you must generate a unique salt value for each password. The salt is a random string that is added to the password before hashing to make it more difficult to attack with the use of rainbow tables (rainbow table attack). Later, you can use the bcrypt.hashpw() function to do the actual hashing.


import bcrypt

password = "password".encode('utf-8') # Converts the string into bytes
salt = bcrypt.gensalt() # Generates the salt

hashed_password = bcrypt.hashpw(password, salt) # Creates the hash

print(hashed_password) 

To verify a password during authentication, you can use the bcrypt.checkpw() function. This function compares the password in clear text with the hashed password stored in the database and returns True if they match, False otherwise.


import bcrypt

stored_password = "$2b$12$Yy1ajxM7Fex7RHm/rEqc5OpqoEjY8wEsGQ.z91hJXn8tNofhXyc0S" # Hashed password
password = "password".encode('utf-8') # Converts the string into bytes

if bcrypt.checkpw(password, stored_password):
    print("Match!")
else:
    print("Error!")

In conclusion, bcrypt is a reliable password hashing library in Python, which offers adequate protection against brute force attacks. Using bcrypt, you can ensure the security of user passwords and protect sensitive data in the system.