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How Tor Helps Both Dissidents and the Police

Posted by timothy on from the can-I-join-your-group-I-hate-the-romans dept.

Al writes "Technology Review has a in-depth article about the anonymous networking software Tor and how it is helping dissidents spread information in oppressive regimes such as Syria, Zimbabwe and Mauritania, and opening up the unfiltered web for users in many more countries. In China, for instance, the computers found in some web cafes are configured to use Tor automatically. Interestingly, some police agencies even use the software to hide their activity from suspects. As filtering becomes ever more common in democratic countries such as the US, perhaps Tor (and similar tools such as I2P), will become even more valuable."

6 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. As with most technology by Z00L00K · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It cuts both ways.

    You can use a knife for cooking, mugging or for police action.

    But the more problematic criminals are also the ones that are most likely to be aware of this and be careful with what and who they trust.

    And the most careful persons in organized crime have sometimes only been relying on trusted messengers that have been doing all their communication. That to avoid wiretaps.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    1. Re:As with most technology by Reorix · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not only does it cut both ways, but it should. The thing about freedom is that 9 times out of 10 it only becomes clear that an action was that of a "freedom fighter" rather than a "terrorist" in hindsight. This is the reason for the high standards for prior restraint of the press.

      I'm not a fan of "sticking it to the man" in general, but when I hear about Tor and similar programs being used for "the wrong purposes" (whether that be organized crime, terrorism, etc), I feel better knowing that the software exists.

      The day when no secure methods exist for organized crime to communicate with each other is likely the day when one is guilty until proven innocent. The broad curtailing of freedoms should give us pause every time it comes up; that doesn't seem to necessarily be the case anymore.

    2. Re:As with most technology by Moryath · · Score: 5, Informative

      Basic things to remember:

      #1 - You should never talk to the cops. Seriously. This is not about your being a "bad citizen" or something else. It is because what you say to the cops can be used AGAINST you, but not FOR you. It is because while the cops have one job, the prosecutors' job is to get convictions, and the prosecutor is perfectly allowed to take some little snippet out of context, ask the cop "did he say that", and you have no recourse.

      #2 - Even the federal government can't tell you how many possible "federal crimes" exist on the books any more. And that's just at the federal level. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" is one tenet of our justice system which might as well read instead, "fuck the people", because there's no way in hell you could EVER know what the entire body of law (and accompanying precedents, "or in violation of some bullshit treaty the US signed that you didn't get to vote on" clauses, "or in violation of some 'regulation' that Congress didn't vote on but was instead put forth by some unelected government bureaucrats" clauses, etc) says even if you eat, breathed, slept, and shit the stuff for your entire lifetime.

      This doesn't mean you should go out of your way to ignore the law. And much of the law is pretty basic (don't park when there's a NO PARKING sign, don't be a dick while driving, etc). Still, you can NEVER be completely sure you're not breaking some law.

    3. Re:As with most technology by WaXHeLL · · Score: 5, Funny

      You should never talk to the cops ... "fuck the people" ... violation of some bullshit treaty the US signed ... shit the stuff ... ignore the law ... be a dick while driving

      It's a surprise that you posted that with an account, rather than AC. Now that you've been flagged as a deranged government-hating terrorist, there's plenty of evidence against you now.

      --
      The troll with karma.
  2. Great article but by island_earth · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd like to see a discussion of the legal ramifications of letting your system be used as a Tor relay. Suppose I volunteer some of my home network capacity to Tor.

    Putting aside the fact that it's probably a violation of my broadband provider's agreement to share my connection in this way, what if someone uses Tor for kiddie porn and happens to make the final connection to the police honeypot (so to speak) from my IP address?

    If anyone can point to a good discussion of this, it would be great. I'd like to let my system be a relay for Tor, but the risk seems large.

    1. Re:Great article but by SimplePaul · · Score: 5, Informative

      As I understand it, you are pretty safe. It's not *you* accessing the content.

      The Tor guys recommend you have a web server on the machine which says "This is a Tor relay", presumably so that anyone who finds your machine during an investigation will know what is going on.

      Two experiences of running a tor exit relay. One good, one less good:-

      http://blog.torproject.org/blog/five-years-exit-node-operator

      http://calumog.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/why-you-need-balls-of-steel-to-operate-a-tor-exit-node/#comment-2