This is a family of extendable-output functions that are perfect for all your cybersecurity needs (or at least they will be once you understand them).

First: what the ***** is an “extendable-output function”? Well, it’s basically a hash algorithm that can generate variable-length outputs. This means you don’t have to settle for those ***** fixed-size digests like SHA-256 or MD5 with Blake2x, you can get as many bits of output as your heart desires!

Blake2x is also super fast and efficient. In fact, it’s up to twice as fast as its predecessor, Blake2b (which was already pretty ***** speedy). And the best part? It’s just as secure if not more so than other popular hash algorithms like SHA-3 or SHAKE128.

So how does it work exactly? Well, let me break it down for you in a way that won’t make your eyes glaze over: Blake2x uses a sponge construction to generate its output. This means it takes input data and processes it through a series of rounds (called “squeezing” or “absorbing”) until all the bits have been absorbed into the hash value. Then, when you’re ready for your output, you can simply squeeze out as many bits as you need!

Blake2x also has a cool feature called “tweakability” this means that it can be customized to suit your specific needs by adding a tweak value. This is especially useful for applications like encryption and decryption, where you want to ensure that the same input always produces the same output (even if the hash function changes).

Blake2x: faster, more secure, and customizable than ever before. And best of all, it’s easy to use just download a reference implementation from GitHub or check out the specification on IETF.org (which is where we got our information for this article).

Now go forth and hash away!