The upcoming release of ECMAScript 2023 brings with it a number of exciting new features and improvements, including the addition of the sha3 family of cryptographic hash functions to the JavaScript crypto library. This is a major advancement for web developers, as sha3 is widely considered to be more secure and efficient than its predecessor, sha2.
The sha3 family of hash functions was first introduced in the Keccak standard, which was developed by a team of researchers led by Guido Bertoni, Joan Daemen, Michaël Peeters, and Gilles Van Assche. The standard was later adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as the new standard for secure hash functions, replacing sha2.
One of the key advantages of sha3 over sha2 is its increased security. sha3 uses a more complex and randomized internal structure, making it much more resistant to collision attacks, a type of attack that attempts to find two different inputs that produce the same hash output. This makes sha3 a more suitable choice for applications that require a high level of security, such as digital signature schemes and key derivation functions.
Another advantage of sha3 is its increased performance. sha3 is designed to be more efficient than sha2, and in many cases, it can produce hash outputs much faster than sha2. This makes it a great choice for applications that require high performance, such as file integrity checking and data integrity validation.
The inclusion of the sha3 family in the JavaScript crypto library is a major step forward for web developers. It provides a more secure and efficient option for cryptographic hashing, and makes it easier for developers to create secure and high-performance web applications. With the release of ES2023, developers can now take full advantage of the sha3 family in their JavaScript code, and benefit from its increased security and performance.