Tor: Anonymous browser denies being hacked after user arrested

The Tor browser, widely used for tracking-free internet browsing and accessing dark web pages, has shown itself after accusations that his privacy was violated and he would no longer be anonymousThe Tor Project, which is responsible for the program, guarantees that: is still safe to use and does not normally allow identification of users.

The group spoke out following a case in Germany where a Tor user was identified during police investigations and arrested for his involvement in the distribution of child abuse material.

Information regarding the arrest and investigation is still scant, but the browser says it did not provide any data or suffer any type of breach by the attackers.

“For the vast majority of users worldwide who need to protect their privacy while browsing the web, Tor is still the best solution. We encourage all Tor users and relay operators to always keep their software versions up to date,” the note said.

What happened in this situation?

According to the official statement, the user was using a messaging service called Ricochet inside Tor. in an old, outdated version that lacks some basic security protocols This way, existing users of the browser and other project services who update everything as needed are protected and remain anonymous.

German police reportedly found suspect After analyzing the time it takes for data packets to move between nodes In this way, from Tor servers, it was possible to determine the approximate geographic location of the connection and local operators may be asked to provide access data that will enable identification by court order.

The investigations in Germany were conducted between 2019 and 2021. Implementation of the protocol Pioneers-liteThis feature, which further reduces a user’s chances of being detected, was added in 2018, but only worked on programs that were properly updated.