SHAKE Encryption

Tool Introduction

“SHAKE Encryption” is a powerful online SHAKE hash calculation tool that supports SHAKE-128 and SHAKE-256 algorithms. SHAKE (Symmetric Hash-key Extended Output Function) is an extendable output function in the SHA-3 family, which means it can generate hash digests of arbitrary length, which is very useful in applications where specific length output is required. This tool provides flexible input options, including plaintext, Hex, Base64, and Bytes formats, and allows you to customize the output length (bits), while supporting adding salt to enhance security, and performing multi-round encryption iterations. Whether you are performing data integrity verification, password storage, or other scenarios that require flexible hash output, this tool can provide efficient and convenient solutions.

How to Use

1. Enter the original data you need to hash in the “String to encrypt” text box.
2. Select the required hash algorithm in the “Algorithm” drop-down menu, you can choose SHAKE-128 or SHAKE-256.
3. Specify the format of your input content in the “Input Type” drop-down menu, such as “Plaintext”, “Hex”, “Base64” or “Bytes”.
4. Set the number of bits of the hash digest you want to generate through the “Output Bits” input box, the default is 256 bits.
5. (Optional) Fill in the salt string in the “Salt” input box to increase the hash complexity.
6. (Optional) Select whether the salt is added to the string to be encrypted as a prefix (start) or a suffix (end) through the “Salt Position” radio button.
7. (Optional) Set the number of hash iterations in the “Encryption Rounds” input box to enhance security, the default is 1 round.
8. Select the “Case” radio button to determine the case format of the output Hex result (lowercase or uppercase).
9. Select “Character Encoding” to ensure correct parsing of the input content, the default is UTF-8.
10. Click the “Execute” button (or a similar start operation button), and the tool will calculate and display the result according to your configuration.

Usage Examples

The following are examples of several typical usage scenarios, demonstrating how to use different functions of this tool.

Example 1: Basic SHAKE-256 Hash

• Operation Demonstration:
  1. Enter in “String to encrypt”: Hello, SHAKE!
  2. “Algorithm” selection: SHAKE-256
  3. “Input Type” selection: Plaintext
  4. “Output Bits” fill in: 256
  5. “Case” selection: Lowercase
  6. “Character Encoding” selection: UTF-8
  7. Keep other parameters as default.
• Example Input Data:
  • String to encrypt: Hello, SHAKE!
  • Algorithm: SHAKE-256
  • Input Type: Plaintext
  • Output Bits: 256
  • Case: Lowercase
• Expected Output Result:
  • Hex: 28532f81156828a1c97f4c547530e206086f6d538f45a004b77f88496739f7d3
  • Base64: KFJvPRVoKKHJgcl/TFh1MOIGAWh1U49FoAS3f4hJZzn30=
  • Bytes: (Raw byte representation, omitted here, the tool will display it directly)

Example 2: SHAKE-128 Hash with Salt and Custom Output Length

• Operation Demonstration:
  1. Enter in “String to encrypt”: test
  2. “Algorithm” selection: SHAKE-128
  3. “Input Type” selection: Plaintext
  4. “Output Bits” fill in: 128
  5. “Salt” fill in: mysalt
  6. “Salt Position” selection: Prefix (start)
  7. “Case” selection: Uppercase
  8. “Character Encoding” selection: UTF-8
  9. Keep other parameters as default.
• Example Input Data:
  • String to encrypt: test
  • Algorithm: SHAKE-128
  • Input Type: Plaintext
  • Output Bits: 128
  • Salt: mysalt
  • Salt Position: Prefix (start)
  • Case: Uppercase
• Expected Output Result:
  • Hex: 3A69772EE57621C0001DFA1936C56784
  • Base64: OmlyLuV2IcAAHfoZNwVnhA==
  • Bytes: (Raw byte representation, omitted here, the tool will display it directly)

Introduction to SHAKE Algorithm

The SHAKE algorithm is an extendable output function (XOF) in the SHA-3 (Secure Hash Algorithm 3rd generation) family. Its name comes from “Symmetric Hash-key Extended Output”. Unlike traditional hash functions such as MD5 or SHA-256, the SHAKE algorithm can generate hash digests of arbitrary length. This variable output length feature makes SHAKE more flexible in many application scenarios, such as generating keys, hash digests, or digital signatures of specified lengths in cryptography.

The core of the SHAKE algorithm is the Keccak sponge structure, which allows input data to be “absorbed” into the internal state, and then “squeezed out” output of arbitrary length from the internal state as needed. Currently, there are two main versions of SHAKE: SHAKE-128 and SHAKE-256. Their numeric suffixes indicate their security strength (corresponding to 128-bit and 256-bit collision resistance, respectively), rather than the output length.

Differences between SHAKE and Traditional Hash Algorithms

Traditional hash algorithms, such as MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, etc., all generate hash digests of fixed length. For example, MD5 always generates 128-bit output, and SHA-256 always generates 256-bit output. As an XOF, the most significant difference of SHAKE is that it can generate hash output of arbitrary length. This feature brings the following advantages:

• Flexibility: Users can specify the length of the hash output according to the needs of specific applications without truncation or padding.
• Versatility: Suitable for a variety of different cryptographic protocols, such as pseudo-random number generators (PRNG), key derivation functions (KDF), etc.
• Resistance to length extension attacks: The internal structure of the SHAKE algorithm makes it naturally resistant to certain attacks against fixed-output hash functions, such as length extension attacks.

Common Questions

• Q: What input formats does SHAKE encryption support? A: This tool supports four input formats: plaintext, Hex encoding, Base64 encoding, and Bytes (byte stream). Please make sure that the input type you choose matches the actual content.
• Q: What is the format of the output result? A: The tool will provide you with three commonly used output formats at the same time: Hex (hexadecimal), Base64 encoding, and Bytes (raw byte representation). You can choose to use it as needed.
• Q: What is the difference between the SHAKE algorithm and SHA-256? A: SHAKE and SHA-256 both belong to cryptographic hash functions. The main difference is that SHA-256 generates a hash value of a fixed length (256 bits), while SHAKE (such as SHAKE-256) as an extendable output function (XOF) can generate a hash value of any length according to requirements. The suffix number represents the security strength rather than the output length.
• Q: What is Salt? What is its function? A: Salt is a random data string added to the data to be hashed. Its function is to increase the complexity of the hash, invalidate rainbow table attacks, and prevent two identical input data from generating the same hash value, thereby improving the security of password storage.
• Q: What is the function of encryption rounds? A: Encryption rounds (or iterations) refers to performing multiple hash calculations on the data. Increasing the number of rounds can significantly increase the difficulty of brute-force cracking, because attackers need to perform more calculations to obtain the original data, but it will also increase the calculation time.

Precautions

• Input data format matching: Please be sure to ensure that the format you selected in “Input Type” matches the data format you actually entered in “String to encrypt”, otherwise it may cause calculation errors or unexpected results.
• Output bit settings: The uniqueness of the SHAKE algorithm lies in the ability to customize the output bits. Please set the “Output Bits” reasonably according to your specific application needs. Too short may reduce security, and too long may increase storage and transmission costs.
• Salt and Rounds: Introducing salt and increasing the number of encryption rounds are effective means to enhance hash security, especially when dealing with sensitive data. However, please note that these operations will increase the calculation time accordingly.
• Character Encoding: When processing text data, it is crucial to select the correct “Character Encoding” (such as UTF-8, ASCII, etc.). Incorrect encoding may cause the input string to be parsed incorrectly, resulting in incorrect hash values.
• Hashing is one-way: Please remember that SHAKE hashing is a one-way function, which means that it is computationally infeasible to reverse derive the original data from the hash value. This tool does not provide decryption functions.