One of the most glaring flaws inherent when NIS is used for authentication is that whenever a user logs into a machine, a password hash from the /etc/shadow map is sent over the network. If an intruder gains access to an NIS domain and sniffs network traffic, usernames and password hashes can be quietly collected. With enough time, a password cracking program can guess weak passwords, and an attacker can gain access to a valid account on the network.

Since Kerberos uses secret-key cryptography, no password hashes are ever sent over the network, making the system far more secure. For more about Kerberos, refer to the chapter titled Kerberos in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Reference Guide.