Final answer:
The best solution for application developers to store passwords in a way that thwarts brute force attacks is through hashing, salting, enforcing complexity requirements, and implementing rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best solution for application developers to store passwords in a way that thwarts brute force attacks is through a technique called hashing. Hashing is a one-way function that converts a password into a unique string of characters, making it extremely difficult to reverse engineer the original password. Developers can also use a technique called salting to further enhance security. Salting involves adding a random string of characters to each password before hashing, which creates unique hash values for each user.
In addition to hashing and salting, developers should enforce password complexity requirements, such as minimum length and the use of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. This ensures that users create strong passwords that are harder to guess or crack.
Finally, application developers should implement rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms. Rate limiting restricts the number of login attempts a user can make within a certain time period, preventing brute force attacks. Account lockout temporarily locks an account after a certain number of failed login attempts, adding an extra layer of security.