3 years ago

Category: Data, encryption

Scrypt is a slow-by-design hash function or more accurately, a KDF function. Its purpose is to take some input data, and create a fingerprint of that data, but to do it very slowly. A common use-case is to take a password and create an n-bit private key, which is much longer and more secure.

By using Scrypt, we can extend that deterministically into a 256-bit key: That long 256-bit key can now be used as a private key to encrypt and decrypt data.

By using a slow hashing function like Scrypt to derive a key, we can force the attacker to waste more resources trying to break in.