Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: ruby123 on April 24, 2013, 04:40 am
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Police In Japan Are Asking ISPs To Start Blocking Tor
from the really-now? dept
The National Police Agency in Japan is apparently asking ISPs in that country to "voluntarily" block the use of Tor, the well-known and widely used system for anonymously surfing the internet.
An expert panel to the NPA, which was looking into measures to combat crimes abusing the Tor system, compiled a report on April 18 stating that blocking online communications at the discretion of site administrators will be effective in preventing such crimes. Based on the recommendation, the NPA will urge the Internet provider industry and other entities to make voluntary efforts to that effect.
This is an extreme and dangerous overreaction. Yes, some people abuse the anonymity of Tor to do illegal things. Just as some people abuse the anonymity of cash to do bad things. But we don't then outlaw cash because of this. There are many, many reasons why people have good reason to seek out an anonymizing tool like Tor to protect their identity. What if they're whistle blowing on organized crime or corruption (say) in the police force? As for the fear that it's being used for criminal activity, that doesn't mean that police cannot identify them through other means. We've seen time and time again people leave digital tracks in other ways when they're committing crimes. Yes, it makes life more difficult for police, and it means they have to do actual detective work, but that's what their job is.
(clearnet) http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130418/17210122754/police-japan-want-isps-to-block-tor.shtml
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Japan is a much more authoritarian country than many people appreciate, so this is no surprise.
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I wonder if Australia will be next?
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It's a bad precedent to see happening. I hope the Forces of Light can stay ahead...
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I wonder if Australia will be next?
Seriously. I'm shocked they weren't first. AFAIK, Japan isn't exactly a popular shipping destination as far as SR and other darknet markets are concerned.
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Police In Japan Are Asking ISPs To Start Blocking Tor
from the really-now? dept
The National Police Agency in Japan is apparently asking ISPs in that country to "voluntarily" block the use of Tor, the well-known and widely used system for anonymously surfing the internet.
An expert panel to the NPA, which was looking into measures to combat crimes abusing the Tor system, compiled a report on April 18 stating that blocking online communications at the discretion of site administrators will be effective in preventing such crimes. Based on the recommendation, the NPA will urge the Internet provider industry and other entities to make voluntary efforts to that effect.
This is an extreme and dangerous overreaction. Yes, some people abuse the anonymity of Tor to do illegal things. Just as some people abuse the anonymity of cash to do bad things. But we don't then outlaw cash because of this. There are many, many reasons why people have good reason to seek out an anonymizing tool like Tor to protect their identity. What if they're whistle blowing on organized crime or corruption (say) in the police force? As for the fear that it's being used for criminal activity, that doesn't mean that police cannot identify them through other means. We've seen time and time again people leave digital tracks in other ways when they're committing crimes. Yes, it makes life more difficult for police, and it means they have to do actual detective work, but that's what their job is.
(clearnet) http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130418/17210122754/police-japan-want-isps-to-block-tor.shtml
what about china then ? :D
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What are alternatives if this happens? how can you access hidden services if you cannot access tor? just in case this happens in my country i would like to be prepared. I would hate fly 2000 miles just to long into my SR account but I will if that's what it comes to. I know this is gonna sound dumb and unsafe but i will ask anyway.... what are the security concerns to use team viewer to access a computer in the U.S. that was able to long on to the TOR network?
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Tor has been strengthening itself from this sort of blocking for a long time now. Japan is late in the game, and I doubt they are going to convince ISP's to block with the intensity of the Chinese censors, who are currently the most skilled at trying to block Tor. Right now it is give and take between Tor and China, with neither of them staying ahead for too long. With the advent of obfsproxy Tor has been making serious progress in their blocking resistance though. Their bridging system can still be significantly improved, but they generally don't want to improve it until it is required to (they actually like the back and forth, and prefer to keep the progress of the blocking technology as slow as possible, rather than risk getting in a fast arms race that they might end up losing). So, for one it is not likely that Japanese ISP's are going to be at the forefront of Tor blocking, and it is entirely possible that simple bridges will be enough to get around it. And for two, even if they match China in their blocking abilities, the general back and forth will still apply, and bridges + Obfsproxy version whatever will be able to circumvent them much of the time.