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A cryptographic hash function family designed as a candidate for SHA-3.
DESCRIPTION
BLAKE is a family of cryptographic hash functions submitted to the NIST SHA-3 competition, inspired by the ChaCha/Salsa20 family. It emphasizes speed and security and led to successors BLAKE2 (RFC 7693) and BLAKE3 with improved performance. BLAKE variants offer different output sizes and are used for hashing, MACs, and digital signatures. BLAKE2 is widely adopted for general-purpose hashing due to its simplicity and speed.
ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS
Wikipedia
BLAKE is a cryptographic hash function that was one of the five finalists in the NIST hash function competition to select SHA-3.
Positions BLAKE among SHA-3 finalists and clarifies its role.
IETF RFC 7693
BLAKE2 is a cryptographic hash function faster than MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-2, yet provides security at least as strong as the latest standard, SHA-3.
Describes the performance and security aims of the BLAKE2 successor.
NIST
The SHA-3 Cryptographic Hash Algorithm Competition evaluated candidate algorithms such as Keccak and BLAKE to select the new standard.
Places BLAKE within the NIST competition context.
RELATED TERMS
SHA-3 BLAKE3 SHA-256 ChaCha Hash Function MAC RFC 7693 Cryptographic Primitive
COMPETING TERMS
RELATIONS
- Broader: Hash Function
- Narrower: BLAKE
KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Data Security Infrastructure Software Engineering
TARGET AUDIENCE
Security Architect Cybersecurity Engineer Software Developer Chief Information Security Officer Data Engineer
EXTERNAL SOURCES
- Wikipedia - BLAKE (hash function)
- IETF - Specification of BLAKE2
- NIST - NIST SHA-3 competition overview
- BLAKE2 - Official BLAKE2 resources and libraries
TOP QUESTIONS
What distinguishes the BLAKE Hash Function from SHA-2?
BLAKE’s design draws on ChaCha/Salsa20 permutations and emphasizes speed while maintaining strong security properties comparable to modern standards.
Category: Example
How does BLAKE relate to BLAKE2 and BLAKE3?
BLAKE2 and BLAKE3 are successors offering improved performance and features, with BLAKE2 standardized in RFC 7693 and widely adopted.
Category: Requirements
Is BLAKE standardized?
Original BLAKE is not the SHA-3 winner; Keccak became SHA-3. BLAKE2 is specified in RFC 7693 and enjoys broad ecosystem support.
Category: Opinion
When should I use BLAKE2 over SHA-3?
Choose BLAKE2 for high-speed general-purpose hashing when standardization and interoperability meet requirements. Use SHA-3 where compliance mandates it.
Category: Alternatives
What are common mistakes using the BLAKE Hash Function?
Mismanaging keys or nonces for MAC modes and using insecure parameters can degrade security. Follow library defaults and specifications.
Category: Mistakes
How fast is the BLAKE Hash Function?
BLAKE2 is faster than many widely used hashes like SHA-2 on numerous platforms, often chosen for performance-critical applications.
Category: Example
Is the BLAKE Hash Function resistant to collisions?
BLAKE and BLAKE2 are designed without known practical collision attacks under recommended parameters. Always track current cryptanalysis.
Category: Risk
Where can I find implementations of the BLAKE Hash Function?
Official resources list C, Rust, Go, and Python libraries. Many crypto libraries include BLAKE2 and BLAKE3.
Category: HowTo
What is a typical use case of the BLAKE Hash Function?
File integrity, checksums, password hashing (with appropriate KDFs), and MACs are common use cases for BLAKE variants.
Category: Example