In the aftermath of startling revelations about PRISM and other NSA activities, there have been an increasing number of Internet users attempting to conceal their identity online. Tor - short for The Onion Router - has become one of the most popular networks for people wishing to stay somewhat ‘anonymous’ online.
‘Onion routing’ is so called as it is a network operating through a number of different layers. A user’s traffic is sent through a number of different relays. The relays encrypt and decrypt the data numerous times in the process. This theoretically protects the users’ privacy and should conceal their identity.
In recent days it has been reported that a group - possibly a US government one such as the FBI or NSA - has been taking advantage of an ‘exploit’ in the Tor network (or specifically their adapted Firefox browser) to potentially spy on users. It affected users who had been using older versions of the Tor browser bundle. Tor developers have gone as far as stating “switching away from Windows is probably a good security move for many reasons”, instead suggesting Internet users stick with Mac OSX or preferably Linux if online security is a major concern.
Many Tor users have chosen the network to simply avoid having their every online activity monitored and recorded, and Tor and similar tools have been heavily promoted by many Internet activists and civil liberty groups as privacy breaches become more and more common. However, anonymous networking has also become a way for criminals to discreetly conduct business, particularly in terms of money laundering, sale of drugs and distribution of illegal pornography.
Indeed, the battle against Tor and other anonymous services moved to our front doorstep last week when Eric Eoin Marques - a US and Irish citizen - was arrested in Dublin. Marques is a central figure in Freedom Hosting, a group responsible for several major Tor tools and services such as a secure email service. The FBI are currently seeking Marques’ extradition, claiming he is one of the ‘largest facilitators’ in the global distribution of child pornography.
Tor and similar software can be used for both good and evil, and recent developments suggest the battle for online anonymity is not going to be an easy one.
