Comparison of all hashing Algorithms

Compare them all in 5 mins with a sample

In the previous post, we went through the sha256 algorithm step by step. however, it is not perfect, at least not as secure as the sha3 family.

It may not be the best choice to use in production. let’s compare with other hashing algorithms and find out when to use what.

When choosing hashing algorithm, the trade-off is always between security and performance.

Let’s find out.

Speed

When talking about performance, Always measure.

Let’s do a simple one.

import hashlib
import zlib
import time
import uuid
def test(hash_func):
    ts = time.time()
    for _ in range(500):
        hash_func((str(uuid.uuid4()) *500).encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()
    print(f'{hash_func} took  {time.time()-ts} ms.')

def crc():
    ts = time.time()
    for _ in range(100):
        hex(zlib.crc32( (str(uuid.uuid4())*500).encode('utf-8') ) )
    print(f'crc32 took {time.time()-ts} ms.')

algos = [hashlib.sha1, hashlib.sha256, hashlib.sha384, hashlib.sha512, hashlib.sha3_256, hashlib.sha3_384,hashlib.sha3_512, hashlib.md5]
for a in algos:
    test(a)
crc()


<built-in function openssl_sha1> took  0.019008159637451172 ms.
<built-in function openssl_sha256> took  0.035021066665649414 ms.
<built-in function openssl_sha384> took  0.026027441024780273 ms.
<built-in function openssl_sha512> took  0.030031681060791016 ms.
<built-in function openssl_sha3_256> took  0.0420684814453125 ms.
<built-in function openssl_sha3_384> took  0.05405235290527344 ms.
<built-in function openssl_sha3_512> took  0.07307291030883789 ms.
<built-in function openssl_md5> took  0.024039030075073242 ms.
crc32 took 0.0010042190551757812 ms.

sha3_512> sha3_384 > sha3_256 > sha256 > sha512 > sha384 > md5 > crc32

In terms of speed, the winner is crc32.

Security

sha3 family is generally more secure.

1. sha3 beaten sha2. sha3 is considered more secure than SHA-2 for the same hash length. For example, SHA3–256 provides more cryptographic strength than SHA-256 for the same hash length (256 bits). The SHA-3 family of functions are representatives of the “Keccak” hashes family, which are based on the cryptographic concept of “sponge construction” (If you are interested, pls drop a comment, and let’s talk about it in the next post)
2. sha0, sha1, and md5 are already broken, Never use them!

Conclusion

• You only want a hash function. to identify changes, for example during file transfer, and do not care about security. go for crc32.
• In most cases, we need to balance speed with security. consider sha3_256, sha3_384, sha3_512. when security increases, speed decreases.

That’s all. Thanks for reading!