14 DAY TRIAL // It is already known that Tor is a thorn in the side of law enforcement because it provides complete anonymity to Internet users. It has already been reported that the NSA has been trying for a long time to snoop in on people using the intricate network providing complete protection by monitoring access points, but now it looks like the FBI is the one too curious.
According to a report from Wired, the FBI has been working for the past two years to find a way in the network that would allow them to identify and prosecute users of criminal websites. The techniques seem to have been useful since over a dozen alleged TOR users who visited sites dedicated to children pornography are headed for a trial.
While Russia recently offered a laughable bounty of some $111,000 (€83,000) for anyone who comes up with a way to crack Tor, the FBI has been doing it for the past couple of years in what they called “Operation Torpedo.”
Dubbed by security experts as a “drive-by download,” the FBI hackers infiltrated a website and subverted it to deliver malware to all visitors, immediately giving them access to those users’ information.
While the FBI seems to have put the technique in use for a good cause, the concerns about the general privacy of Tor users and the potential for innocent users to wind up infected with malware because they visited the wrong website are still present.
The FBI is no stranger to using malware, but this time around, due to the existence of Tor, it’s not just for luring out criminals, but rather setting down a trap for anyone walking around.
While Tor has a good side because it allows people to surf the Internet anonymously with the help of bouncing the encrypted traffic through a winding series of servers before delivering it back to the open Internet through some of its 1,100 exit nodes, there are also bad parts to this system.
For instance, the dark net. This is a place where people can set up special websites whose physical locations are untraceable and can only be reached via the Tor network. While some of the owners of these websites are journalists and advocates trying to protect their privacy and the privacy of their sources, there are also plenty of sites where people can hire assassins, get drugs or look for sick child assault pictures.