First Critical Windows 8 Security Flaw: Logon Passwords Stored in Plain Text

As you may know in case you’re a Windows 8 early adopter, the new operating system comes with two new authentication options, allowing users to log in via a picture password or a secure PIN.

“The matter is that these two authentication methods are based on a regular user account. In other words, the user must first have created an account with a regular password and then optionally switch to PIN or picture password authentication. Notably that the original plain-text (!) password to the account also remains in the system,” Passcape wrote in a blog post.

Passwords could, of course, be decrypted and Passcape says that some software solutions especially created in this regard have already been developed.