What is a rainbow attack primarily aimed at?

A rainbow attack is primarily aimed at cracking password hashes. This type of attack takes advantage of precomputed tables of hashed passwords, known as rainbow tables, which allow an attacker to quickly look up a hash to find the corresponding plaintext password. Since most hashing algorithms are designed to be a one-way function, reversing the process directly is typically impractical without such precomputed aids.

By utilizing these tables, an attacker can bypass the need to brute force each possible plaintext input, significantly speeding up the process of discovering passwords based on their hashes. This efficiency is what makes rainbow attacks particularly dangerous in scenarios where password security practices are not rigorously followed, such as weak or common passwords that may already be included in the rainbow tables.

Other options may refer to actions related to passwords or security but do not encapsulate the primary focus of rainbow attacks as accurately as cracking password hashes does.