Patent ID: 8769637

Claim:
A computer-implemented hash method for use in password authentication, comprising: establishing an iteration count, the iteration count being greater than two; identifying a hash function based on a code version associated with password data, the code version establishing an encryption scheme for the password data; calculating a first hash value by applying the password data and a salt value to the identified hash function, the salt value being a non-random value computed from information about a user; calculating a second hash value by applying the first hash value and the password to the identified hash function, wherein the calculation of the second hash value represents a second iteration; iteratively calculating a final hash value based on at least the second hash value and the password data, wherein at corresponding ones of a plurality of iterations, the calculating comprises: generating a combination of an output hash value of a previous iteration and the password data; and calculating a new hash value by applying the generated combination to the identified hash function, the iteration count being determined by the plurality number of iterations, and the new hash value calculated at a last one of the plurality of iterations being the final hash value; and storing the final hash value in a server database, wherein the server database is included in an LDAP server, and the method further comprises: storing, in the LDAP server, a password hash entry corresponding to the password data, wherein the password hash entry includes the final hash value, an identifier of the hash function, the salt value, and the iteration count, the password hash entry being stored in a character string or an integer string.