[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]
Re: [tor-talk] Bruce Schneier's Guardian Article about N_S_A and Tor.
On Sat, Jun 28, 2014, at 10:38 PM, williamwinkle@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> I recently read a Guardian article from last October
> (www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/04/tor-attacks-cnsa-users-online-anonymity)
> by Bruce Schneier about the N_S_A and Tor. His story was based on the
> "Tor Stinks" and "Egotistical Giraffe" presentations.
>
> My understanding of the article is that if individual(s) are requesting
> http://www.target_website.com then, once the request leaves the exit
> node, the N_S_A can use their Quantum servers on the Internet's
> backbones to redirect the request to their FoxAcid servers in order to
> compromise the requester.
>
> I don't understand what Schneier means by this:
>
> "After identifying an individual Tor user on the internet, the NSA uses
> its network of secret internet servers to redirect those users to
> another set of secret internet servers, with the codename FoxAcid, to
> infect the user's computer."
>
> Surely the whole point of Tor is that the requester of
> http://www.target_website.com cannot be identified based on the traffic
> which leaves the exit node. Since the N_S_A would only know the IP
> address of the exit node and the destination
> http://www.target_website.com, how can the client be identified even if
> the traffic is redirected to the FoxAcid servers?
They are identified as a person of interest by visiting
target_website.com (where target_website.com might be an 'extremist'
site or a webmail box that has attracted attention) and then *in real
time* code injection and redirection can be used to attack the person's
computer. So 'identifying an individual Tor user' means 'identifying as
a person of interest, new or previously encountered but not yet
traced'.
GD
--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Email service worth paying for. Try it for free
--
tor-talk mailing list - tor-talk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe or change other settings go to
https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-talk