The Tor Project announced the removal of multiple network relays involved in a cryptocurrency scheme.
A Tor network relay is a server that operates within the Tor network and routes data through a series of relays to anonymize the traffic’s source.
Tor relays are operated by a network of volunteers worldwide who support online privacy and freedom of information. Anyone with technical knowledge and resources can set up and run a Tor relay. These volunteers contribute to the Tor network by providing bandwidth and helping to route traffic in a way that enhances anonymity for users.
Recently, Tor Project maintainers identified some operators involved in for-profit financial schemes that were observed promising monetary gains with cryptocurrency tokens.
The decision to remove the relays animated a debate in the community around relay policies, their violation, and incentivization models that can better support relay operators.
The Tor Project pointed out that third parties operate this scheme without endorsement or approval.
“We consider these relays to be harmful to the Tor network for several reasons, including that certain of the relays do not meet our requirements and that such financial schemes present a significant threat to the network’s integrity and the reputation of our project as they can attract individuals with malicious intent, put users at risk, or disrupt the volunteer-driven spirit that sustains the Tor Community.” reads the announcement published by the Tor Project. “As part of our assessment and due diligence into the matter, we engaged with relay operators and were often presented with scenarios in which relay operators associated with this scheme were putting themselves at risk by lacking the awareness of what project they were contributing to or operating relays in unsafe or high-risk regions. It has become clear that this scheme does not benefit the Tor network or the Tor Project. This is why we proposed the rejection of those relays to our directory authorities, who voted to remove them.”
The announcement has not named the entity operating the relays. However, multiple sources reported that the servers were used as part of the ATOR project. ATOR empowers decentralized internet relay operators through on-chain rewards and facilitates a more comprehensive provision of open and anonymous protocols through hardware.
“The value of ATOR plummeted on Monday after the Tor Project made its announcement, dropping to below $1 after reaching an all-time high of $2 just days before the relays were removed. Over 1,000 nodes have been reportedly shut down,” reported SecurityWeek. “Following the Tor Project’s decision, ATOR maintainers said they plan to develop their own decentralized peer-to-peer routing network.”