diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c05dc49d..e91483f2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -48,6 +48,19 @@ Support the developer of this open-source project
 ```
 
 **1. Clone and run:**
+The new version of INTERCEPT includes PEPPER as a security enhancement, so all users, both new and existing, must follow the steps below to use the platform. SAVE your PEPPER for future updates or you will not be able to log in with your usual user account.
+
+Generate a secure PEPPER with "openssl rand -hex 32" and save it in your computer. This is necessary if you are deploying with requirements or UV. In case of ./setup.sh the PEPPER will be ask you to generate during the installation.
+
+macOS:
+
+echo 'export INTERCEPT_PEPPER="your_generated_secret_here"' >> ~/.zshrc
+source ~/.zshrc
+
+Linux:
+echo 'export INTERCEPT_PEPPER="your_generated_secret_here"' >> ~/.bashrc
+source ~/.bashrc
+
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/smittix/intercept.git
 cd intercept
@@ -56,7 +69,8 @@ sudo -E venv/bin/python intercept.py
 ```
 
 ### Docker (Alternative)
-
+Generate a secure PEPPER with "openssl rand -hex 32". 
+Modify on the docker-compose the INTERCEPT_PEPPER=your_generated_secret_here
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/smittix/intercept.git
 cd intercept
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index af8dd8a1..e74bdf07 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 import sys
 import site
 
-from utils.database import get_db
+from utils.database import verify_user
 
 # Ensure user site-packages is available (may be disabled when running as root/sudo)
 if not site.ENABLE_USER_SITE:
@@ -241,26 +241,17 @@ def logout():
     return redirect(url_for('login'))
 
 @app.route('/login', methods=['GET', 'POST'])
-@limiter.limit("5 per minute")  # Limit to 5 login attempts per minute per IP
+@limiter.limit("5 per minute")
 def login():
     if request.method == 'POST':
         username = request.form.get('username')
-        password = request.form.get('password')
-        
-        # Connect to DB and find user
-        with get_db() as conn:
-            cursor = conn.execute(
-                'SELECT password_hash, role FROM users WHERE username = ?',
-                (username,)
-            )
-            user = cursor.fetchone()
+        password = request.form.get('password') or ''
+        user_data = verify_user(username, password)
 
-        # Verify user exists and password is correct
-        if user and check_password_hash(user['password_hash'], password):
-            # Store data in session
+        if user_data:
             session['logged_in'] = True
             session['username'] = username
-            session['role'] = user['role']
+            session['role'] = user_data['role']
             
             logger.info(f"User '{username}' logged in successfully.")
             return redirect(url_for('index'))
diff --git a/config.py b/config.py
index 2250f1d0..b7393ef6 100644
--- a/config.py
+++ b/config.py
@@ -136,27 +136,27 @@ def _get_env_bool(key: str, default: bool) -> bool:
 BT_SCAN_TIMEOUT = _get_env_int('BT_SCAN_TIMEOUT', 10)
 BT_UPDATE_INTERVAL = _get_env_float('BT_UPDATE_INTERVAL', 2.0)
 
-# ADS-B settings
-ADSB_SBS_PORT = _get_env_int('ADSB_SBS_PORT', 30003)
-ADSB_UPDATE_INTERVAL = _get_env_float('ADSB_UPDATE_INTERVAL', 1.0)
-ADSB_AUTO_START = _get_env_bool('ADSB_AUTO_START', False)
-ADSB_HISTORY_ENABLED = _get_env_bool('ADSB_HISTORY_ENABLED', False)
+# ADS-B settings
+ADSB_SBS_PORT = _get_env_int('ADSB_SBS_PORT', 30003)
+ADSB_UPDATE_INTERVAL = _get_env_float('ADSB_UPDATE_INTERVAL', 1.0)
+ADSB_AUTO_START = _get_env_bool('ADSB_AUTO_START', False)
+ADSB_HISTORY_ENABLED = _get_env_bool('ADSB_HISTORY_ENABLED', False)
 ADSB_DB_HOST = _get_env('ADSB_DB_HOST', 'localhost')
 ADSB_DB_PORT = _get_env_int('ADSB_DB_PORT', 5432)
 ADSB_DB_NAME = _get_env('ADSB_DB_NAME', 'intercept_adsb')
 ADSB_DB_USER = _get_env('ADSB_DB_USER', 'intercept')
 ADSB_DB_PASSWORD = _get_env('ADSB_DB_PASSWORD', 'intercept')
-ADSB_HISTORY_BATCH_SIZE = _get_env_int('ADSB_HISTORY_BATCH_SIZE', 500)
-ADSB_HISTORY_FLUSH_INTERVAL = _get_env_float('ADSB_HISTORY_FLUSH_INTERVAL', 1.0)
-ADSB_HISTORY_QUEUE_SIZE = _get_env_int('ADSB_HISTORY_QUEUE_SIZE', 50000)
-
-# Observer location settings
-SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED = _get_env_bool('SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION', True)
-
-# Satellite settings
-SATELLITE_UPDATE_INTERVAL = _get_env_int('SATELLITE_UPDATE_INTERVAL', 30)
-SATELLITE_TRAJECTORY_POINTS = _get_env_int('SATELLITE_TRAJECTORY_POINTS', 30)
-SATELLITE_ORBIT_MINUTES = _get_env_int('SATELLITE_ORBIT_MINUTES', 45)
+ADSB_HISTORY_BATCH_SIZE = _get_env_int('ADSB_HISTORY_BATCH_SIZE', 500)
+ADSB_HISTORY_FLUSH_INTERVAL = _get_env_float('ADSB_HISTORY_FLUSH_INTERVAL', 1.0)
+ADSB_HISTORY_QUEUE_SIZE = _get_env_int('ADSB_HISTORY_QUEUE_SIZE', 50000)
+
+# Observer location settings
+SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION_ENABLED = _get_env_bool('SHARED_OBSERVER_LOCATION', True)
+
+# Satellite settings
+SATELLITE_UPDATE_INTERVAL = _get_env_int('SATELLITE_UPDATE_INTERVAL', 30)
+SATELLITE_TRAJECTORY_POINTS = _get_env_int('SATELLITE_TRAJECTORY_POINTS', 30)
+SATELLITE_ORBIT_MINUTES = _get_env_int('SATELLITE_ORBIT_MINUTES', 45)
 
 # Update checking
 GITHUB_REPO = _get_env('GITHUB_REPO', 'smittix/intercept')
@@ -166,6 +166,9 @@ def _get_env_bool(key: str, default: bool) -> bool:
 # Admin credentials
 ADMIN_USERNAME = _get_env('ADMIN_USERNAME', 'admin')
 ADMIN_PASSWORD = _get_env('ADMIN_PASSWORD', 'admin')
+PEPPER = os.environ.get('INTERCEPT_PEPPER')
+if PEPPER is None:
+    raise RuntimeError("INTERCEPT_PEPPER environment variable must be set. See README for setup instructions.")
 
 def configure_logging() -> None:
     """Configure application logging."""
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 234eb3e2..d396432b 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ services:
       - INTERCEPT_HOST=0.0.0.0
       - INTERCEPT_PORT=5050
       - INTERCEPT_LOG_LEVEL=INFO
+      - INTERCEPT_PEPPER=your_generated_secret_here
       # ADS-B history is disabled by default
       # To enable, use: docker compose --profile history up -d
       # - INTERCEPT_ADSB_HISTORY_ENABLED=true
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 7dc672d0..ab7f8690 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ dependencies = [
     "bleak>=0.21.0",
     "flask-sock",
     "requests>=2.28.0",
+    'psycopg2-binary>=2.9.9',
+    'numpy>=1.24.0',
+    'scipy>=1.10.0'
 ]
 
 [project.urls]
diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index cf59bb91..2f755dae 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -1013,11 +1013,44 @@ install_debian_packages() {
   fi
 }
 
+# ----------------------------
+# Security / Pepper Check
+# ----------------------------
+check_pepper() {
+    echo
+    info "Checking Security Configuration..."
+    
+    if [[ -z "${INTERCEPT_PEPPER:-}" ]]; then
+        warn "INTERCEPT_PEPPER is not set in your environment."
+        echo -e "For security, you must generate a unique Pepper for password hashing."
+        
+        if ask_yes_no "Would you like me to generate one and show you how to save it?"; then
+            local NEW_PEPPER
+            NEW_PEPPER=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
+            ok "Generated Pepper: ${NEW_PEPPER}"
+            echo
+            echo "To make this permanent, run the following command:"
+            if [[ "$OS" == "macos" ]]; then
+                echo -e "${YELLOW}echo 'export INTERCEPT_PEPPER=\"$NEW_PEPPER\"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc${NC}"
+            else
+                echo -e "${YELLOW}echo 'export INTERCEPT_PEPPER=\"$NEW_PEPPER\"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc${NC}"
+            fi
+            echo
+            warn "IMPORTANT: Save this secret! If you lose it, you will be locked out of your database."
+        else
+            fail "Warning: INTERCEPT will fail to start without INTERCEPT_PEPPER."
+        fi
+    else
+        ok "INTERCEPT_PEPPER is already set."
+    fi
+}
+
 # ----------------------------
 # Final summary / hard fail
 # ----------------------------
 final_summary_and_hard_fail() {
   check_tools
+  check_pepper
 
   echo "============================================"
   echo
diff --git a/tests/test_database.py b/tests/test_database.py
index 93309edd..8ab01ae5 100644
--- a/tests/test_database.py
+++ b/tests/test_database.py
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@
 import pytest
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import patch
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
+from utils.database import verify_user, generate_password_hash, check_password_hash
+
+# Mock configuration to ensure the PEPPER is consistent during tests
+MOCK_PEPPER = "secret_pepper_123"
 
 # Need to patch DB_PATH before importing database module
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
@@ -254,3 +259,96 @@ def test_correlation_upsert(self, temp_db):
                    if c['wifi_mac'] == 'AA:AA:AA:AA:AA:AA']
         assert len(matching) == 1
         assert matching[0]['confidence'] == 0.9
+
+######
+# Tests for user verification and password hash migration
+######
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def mock_db_user():
+    """Simulates a database response for a user."""
+    def _create_user(id_val, pw_hash, role="admin"):
+        return {"id": id_val, "password_hash": pw_hash, "role": role}
+    return _create_user
+
+### 1. Test: Successful Login with New Hash (Peppered)
+@patch('utils.database.PEPPER', MOCK_PEPPER)
+@patch('utils.database.get_db')
+def test_verify_user_success_new_hash(mock_get_db, mock_db_user):
+    # Generate a hash that ALREADY includes the pepper
+    password = "my_secure_password"
+    peppered_hash = generate_password_hash(f"{password}{MOCK_PEPPER}")
+    
+    # Configure the DB mock
+    mock_conn = MagicMock()
+    mock_conn.execute.return_value.fetchone.return_value = mock_db_user(1, peppered_hash)
+    mock_get_db.return_value.__enter__.return_value = mock_conn
+
+    result = verify_user("test_user", password)
+    
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result["role"] == "admin"
+
+### 2. Test: Legacy Hash Detection and Automatic Migration
+@patch('utils.database.PEPPER', MOCK_PEPPER)
+@patch('utils.database.get_db')
+def test_verify_user_legacy_migration(mock_get_db, mock_db_user):
+    password = "old_password"
+    # Create a hash WITHOUT the pepper (simulating old data)
+    legacy_hash = generate_password_hash(password)
+    
+    mock_conn = MagicMock()
+    mock_conn.execute.return_value.fetchone.return_value = mock_db_user(2, legacy_hash)
+    mock_get_db.return_value.__enter__.return_value = mock_conn
+
+    # Act: Verify the user
+    result = verify_user("legacy_user", password)
+
+    # ASSERTIONS
+    # 1. Access must be granted (Fallback worked)
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result["role"] == "admin"
+
+    # 2. Verify the UPDATE logic was triggered
+    update_calls = [
+        call for call in mock_conn.execute.call_args_list 
+        if 'UPDATE users SET password_hash' in call[0][0]
+    ]
+    assert len(update_calls) == 1, "The database was not updated with the new hash"
+
+    # 3. CRITICAL: Verify the updated hash now includes the PEPPER
+    # We extract the 'new_hash' argument from the execute(query, params) call
+    new_hash_in_db = update_calls[0][0][1][0]
+    
+    # It must fail WITHOUT the pepper now
+    assert check_password_hash(new_hash_in_db, password) is False
+    # It must succeed WITH the pepper
+    assert check_password_hash(new_hash_in_db, f"{password}{MOCK_PEPPER}") is True
+
+    print("✓ Migration successful: User granted access and hash upgraded with Pepper.")
+
+### 3. Test: Login Failure (Incorrect Password)
+@patch('utils.database.PEPPER', MOCK_PEPPER)
+@patch('utils.database.get_db')
+def test_verify_user_wrong_password(mock_get_db, mock_db_user):
+    correct_password = "real_password"
+    peppered_hash = generate_password_hash(f"{correct_password}{MOCK_PEPPER}")
+    
+    mock_conn = MagicMock()
+    mock_conn.execute.return_value.fetchone.return_value = mock_db_user(3, peppered_hash)
+    mock_get_db.return_value.__enter__.return_value = mock_conn
+
+    # Attempt login with a typo/wrong password
+    result = verify_user("test_user", "wrong_password")
+    
+    assert result is None
+
+### 4. Test: User Does Not Exist
+@patch('utils.database.get_db')
+def test_verify_user_not_found(mock_get_db):
+    mock_conn = MagicMock()
+    mock_conn.execute.return_value.fetchone.return_value = None
+    mock_get_db.return_value.__enter__.return_value = mock_conn
+
+    result = verify_user("ghost_user", "1234")
+    assert result is None
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/utils/database.py b/utils/database.py
index a11c46bb..da89ab00 100644
--- a/utils/database.py
+++ b/utils/database.py
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
 from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any
-from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash
-from config import ADMIN_USERNAME, ADMIN_PASSWORD
+from werkzeug.security import generate_password_hash, check_password_hash
+from config import ADMIN_USERNAME, ADMIN_PASSWORD, PEPPER
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('intercept.database')
 
@@ -24,6 +24,50 @@
 # Thread-local storage for connections
 _local = threading.local()
 
+def verify_user(username: str, password: str) -> dict | None:
+    """
+    Verifies user credentials. If a legacy hash is found, it migrates 
+    the user to the new PEPPER-based hashing automatically.
+    Returns user data (role) if successful, None otherwise.
+    """
+    with get_db() as conn:
+        cursor = conn.execute(
+            'SELECT id, password_hash, role FROM users WHERE username = ?',
+            (username,)
+        )
+        user = cursor.fetchone()
+
+    if not user:
+        return None
+
+    user_id = user['id']
+    current_hash = user['password_hash']
+    user_role = user['role']
+
+    # 1. New verification (Password + Pepper)
+    if check_password_hash(current_hash, f"{password}{PEPPER}"):
+        return {"role": user_role}
+
+    # 2. Legacy fallback (Password only)
+    if check_password_hash(current_hash, password):
+        logger.info(f"Legacy hash detected for user '{username}'. Migrating...")
+        
+        # Upgrade the hash to include the Pepper
+        new_hash = generate_password_hash(f"{password}{PEPPER}")
+        
+        try:
+            with get_db() as conn:
+                conn.execute(
+                    'UPDATE users SET password_hash = ? WHERE id = ?',
+                    (new_hash, user_id)
+                )
+            return {"role": user_role}
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Migration failed for {username}, but granting access: {e}")
+            return {"role": user_role}
+
+    return None
+
 
 def get_db_path() -> Path:
     """Get the database file path, creating directory if needed."""
@@ -115,12 +159,7 @@ def init_db() -> None:
 
         cursor = conn.execute('SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users')
         if cursor.fetchone()[0] == 0:
-            from config import ADMIN_USERNAME, ADMIN_PASSWORD
-            
-            logger.info(f"Creating default admin user: {ADMIN_USERNAME}")
-            
-            # Password hashing
-            hashed_pw = generate_password_hash(ADMIN_PASSWORD)
+            hashed_pw = generate_password_hash(f"{ADMIN_PASSWORD}{PEPPER}")
             
             conn.execute('''
                 INSERT INTO users (username, password_hash, role)
@@ -1955,3 +1994,4 @@ def cleanup_old_payloads(max_age_hours: int = 24) -> int:
             WHERE received_at < datetime('now', ?)
         ''', (f'-{max_age_hours} hours',))
         return cursor.rowcount
+