Re:Lifetimes of cryptographic hash functions
by baby on Sunday February 26, 2017 @05:27AM
(#13736573)
> I'd argue SHA-3 being efficient in hardware is almost completely irrelevant for 99% of all users of cryptographic software.
I'd argue that for 99% of all users of cryptographic software, the difference in speed between SHA-2 and SHA-3 is irrelevant.
BLAKE2 is a fine hash too :]
I almost wish SHA-3 had been a dual pick between a fast software hash and a fast hardware hash. As it stands, Keccak being so slow in software is majorly limiting IMO. The more interesting aspect of SHA-3 is the sponge, so you can really turn Keccak into an entire swiss-army knife of crypto tools, if you know what you're doing.
But as it stands, if I have to pick a modern hash, I almost always pick BLAKE2 instead of SHA-3, primarily because I rarely need the sponge design and also because it's dramatically faster in software. Stuff like this is really important on my Cortex-M4...