[tor-talk] Illegal Activity As A Metric of Tor Security and Anonymity

[Mark McCarron]

Basically put, if criminals cannot evade capture, how can anyone with important information to release evade capture?

Especially when they are the greater threat and more resources can be used against them.  

The presence of criminal behaviour, enterprises and activity is a 'canary in a cage' that indicates the overall effectiveness of the Tor platform.

The canary is dead.  Something is wrong with Tor and we need to find it.

Regards,

Mark McCarron

> Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 15:53:50 -0700
> From: coderman at gmail.com
> To: tor-talk at lists.torproject.org
> Subject: Re: [tor-talk] Illegal Activity As A Metric of Tor Security and	Anonymity
> 
> On Wed, Jun 25, 2014 at 2:56 PM, Mark McCarron <mark.mccarron at live.co.uk> wrote:
> > Basically, I keep a track of site numbers year-on-year, site availability from 3rd party monitoring and read comments on forums and chat.
> 
> from this you draw too many unsupported conclusions.
> 
> 
> 
> > Whilst it may be good in some sense, it states that Tor is failing in its primary task of promoting freedom through anonymity.
> 
> freedom to communicate is very different from freedom of consequences
> for your actions.  if you are posting material incriminating yourself
> harming another, do you think the evidence is solely digital and
> ephemeral?
> 
> "good old fashioned police work" identifies criminals harming others
> effectively, and outside the scope of "private network communication".
> 
> the markets you allude to, drug trade and sex crimes, perhaps a less
> appropriate measure - consider cyber crime where information trade
> alone is the offense, and you've got a better metric for the privacy
> protections of illicit infotrade across digital networks.
> 
> last but not least, to the extent that these sites distributing
> deplorable content (rape of earth humans) represented a failure in
> enforcement, it seems logical that a vigilante response would develop.
> these may have significant impact on availability, yet say more about
> the general insecurity of software systems and digital networks more
> than anything specific about Tor's privacy protections.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >  In fact, it would seem that Tor is having the opposite effect, silencing everyone through fear...
> > So, the question remains, what is wrong with the Anonymity and Security of Tor?
> 
> flawed assumptions, invalid premises. i disagree entirely!
> 
> 
> best regards,
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