Proof! Oracle Development have a funny bone

Recurity Labs GmbH have a very interesting post on their investigation of the new password algorithms in Oracle Database 11g.

I did a double-take when I saw the set of hashing algorithm identifier values (used as a parameter to the ztv2ghashs hashing function)..

0xf00d means: Use MD4 
0xdead means: Use SHA1 
0xbeaf means: Use MD5 

Ah! It's an oldie but a goodie. Brings back schoolboy memories of getting your LCD calculator to spell out well-known petroleum companies.

And good to see that even in the depths of Oracle Development there's a willingness to do something a little special, for no reason other than because they can.