- After the German police managed to unmask a Tor user and convict them (for certain criminal activities), loyal Tor users have raised questions about the platform’s safety and anonymity.
- Tor responded to this unrest by saying that its network is still safe to use, and that it’s as private and anonymous as before.
- It also clarified that the user was de-anonymized only because they were using a very outdated version that didn’t have the necessary protections.
In a recent investigation conducted by the German police, the authorities were able to identify certain users of the Tor network (despite Tor claiming that it’s anonymous) and convict them of criminal activities.
The user, identified as Andres G, was allegedly running an Onion website called Boystown that hosted child sex abuse material (CSAM). He was using Ricochet for communication, which is an anonymous messaging app that transfers messages over Tor.
This has raised questions about whether Tor is still safe to use. Well, the company has come out with a statement regarding the matter. Read on to find out everything about the issue.
How Did the Authorities Deanonymize the Tor User?
A report by the German news magazine program Panorama reveals that the authorities used something called “timing analysis” to identify the user. In this process, by timing individual data packets, you can trace anonymized connections back to the user even if the connection has been encrypted multiple times.
It’s worth noting that the authorities probably also had to spend a lot of time observing clues about the users sending traffic into the aforementioned network.
The authorities did not reveal much about the methodology, but Bill Budington, senior staff technologist at EFF, added that for the timing analysis to work, a guard node needs to be compromised.
This is why users are now concerned that the Tor network might be filled with police-controlled nodes that would compromise their anonymity.
What Does Tor Have To Say About This?
Tor has addressed the nodes issue, saying that although there’s been an increase in the number of nodes lately – there are approximately 2,000 now – it’s nothing to worry about.
In a blog post addressing the incident, Tor said that its services are still safe and anonymous. This particular incident of “de-anonymization of an Onion Service used by a Tor user” only happened because the user was using a very outdated version of the long-retired application Ricochet.
The old version neither has Vanguards-lite nor the vanguards addon, both of which were introduced to protect users from such kinds of attacks.
A lot of things are still unclear. However, Tor (The Onion Router) says that the safety of its network is not one of them – and that users can still access the browser securely and anonymously.
“Please note that for the great majority of users worldwide who need to protect their privacy while browsing the Internet, Tor is still the best solution for them. We encourage all Tor users and relay operators to always keep software versions up to date.” – Tor
In the end, Tor also added that it doesn’t have all the necessary documents to make a detailed response. The company has formally put out a request to anyone who has any information regarding this case to reach out to them.
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