FBI accused of infiltrating Tor network to close child abuse host

An exploit targeting users of anonymous browsing network Tor is believed to be linked to the FBI’s request for extradition of Eric Eoin Marques for child abuse material.

According to Independent.ie, the FBI is seeking the extradition of Marques — dubbed the “largest facilitator of child porn on the planet” — to charge him with four offences that could see him serve 30 years in prison if convicted.

Marques’ tie-in back to the Tor network is that he allegedly owns and operates an organisation on Tor called Freedom Hosting, which in turn provides consumers with the ability to run “hidden services” designed to protect their administrators from being tracked or identified. They are often used for legitimate reasons, such as for whistleblowers or securing communications, but they can also be used to serve child abuse material.

Tor notes on its own blog that: “The design of the Tor network ensures that the user cannot know where the server is located, and the server cannot find out the IP address of the user, except by intentional malicious means like hidden tracking code embedded in the web pages delivered by the server.”

SOURCE: zdnet.com