Policy Observatory
IT Worlds brings to attention the fact that the U.K. will set up a specialist unit that will use high-tech capabilities to hunt down pedophiles on the Tor anonymity network and other dark corners of the Web. The unit will combine the investigatory expertise of the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA) with those of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the U.K’s intelligence service, to tackle the worst cases of child sexual exploitation online.
Russia and Austria take action against use of Tor
Fri 1 Aug 2014, 18:32
Tor (The Onion Router) is an anonymity network that directs Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network that consists of relays, known as nodes, concealing the location and usage details of users, to protect their privacy. It is used for example by journalists and political activists to guarantee the confidentiality of their communications, but can also be used by criminals to hide their tracks from law enforcement.
Privacy advocates unmask Twitter troll
Wed 3 Dec 2014, 12:40
Andrea Shepard, the Tor developer who uncovered the real identity of her troll, says she was being harassed on and off for a year by a range of tweeters, all believed to be the sockpuppets of one man.
App for selling anything to anyone in complete privacy
Thu 11 Dec 2014, 15:20
The Guardian describes a new app allowing users to sell anything to anyone in complete privacy has been launched, opening a new front in the fast-developing war between coders and the law. Bitmarkets, an opensource app available for download at voluntary.net, is the latest in a series of technical innovations by digital activists who want to prevent surveillance over commerce and communications.
UK specialist for catching dark net pedophiles
Thu 11 Dec 2014, 19:20
Darkweb site taken down
Tue 9 Dec 2014, 15:00
FBI and Europol, took down Doxbin, one of the darkweb’s most notorious sites where users and admins posted the names, addresses, social security numbers, healthcare histories and other personal details in a spirit of digital vigilantism – or plain malice. Although the police were able to seize the domain, it is technically trivial to re-establish control of a “seized” site. And the Doxbin’s new overlord has simply set up a new domain that agents cannot touch.
Offline, one common use of data from Doxbin is to employ it in “SWATing” a target, where a victim’s phone number is spoofed and used to call in armed police. The caller claims they need urgent assistance to the related address, officers arrive with guns drawn and surprise the victim.
Vuvuzela, a next-generation anonymity tool that protects users by adding noise
Fri 18 Dec 2015, 13:00
Tor allows users to browse the web anonymously, but has come under sustained attack – and cracks have begun to show. Is it time for a replacement? Vuvuzela, a prototype anonymising software designed by MIT researchers, is one attempt.
Vuvuzela works by encrypting as much metadata as possible, but (like its namesake) it also adds a lot of noise – fake messages with which to confuse attackers. As they are indistinguishable from genuine messages, this drowns out patterns of genuine communication that might otherwise compromise a user’s anonymity.