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The FBI Identified a Tor User

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Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#271

Post by rnd0 »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #166
AlbertCory wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> three people could only keep a secret if 2 are dead Exactly. Which is why, not to start a JFK war, I think the Mafia killed JFK. If it were the CIA, or LBJ, someone would have talked. Anyone who knew what happened got whacked.

But doesn’t that mean there was someone coordinating the whacking of those in the know? If so, wouldn’t THAT person know the truth?

That assumes that the person coordinating didn't get whacked because they were involved in the wrong part of a different operation

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#272

Post by rnd0 »

AlbertCory wrote: post #189
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But doesn’t that mean there was someone coordinating the whacking of those in the know? If so, wouldn’t THAT person know the truth?

Yeah, but those Mafia bosses don't get where they are by being blabbermouths. And note that Jimmy Hoffa got disappeared, albeit 13 years later.

Now there's food for thought!

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#273

Post by tehwebguy »

sneak wrote: post #212
nerbert wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Very big targets are taken by 0 days, and like Op above mentioned, low hanging fruits are taken by parallel construction. Looks like there is a sweet spot in the middle, where they can’t be bothered.

Parallel construction is illegal. Why do we tolerate government corruption at the highest levels of law enforcement?

The parallel construction part is the cover-up, we don't "tolerate" it because we can't prove when it happens.

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#274

Post by bsder »

sneak wrote: post #212
nerbert wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Very big targets are taken by 0 days, and like Op above mentioned, low hanging fruits are taken by parallel construction. Looks like there is a sweet spot in the middle, where they can’t be bothered.

Parallel construction is illegal. Why do we tolerate government corruption at the highest levels of law enforcement?

Proving "parallel construction" is difficult for even the well connected. See: Eliot Spitzer.

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#275

Post by pilsetnieks »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #198
PartiallyTyped wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most paranoid plan i have come up with: - tor + cubesOS set up by somebody you deeply trust (person A) - on a USB bought by a different person (person B) - with a network card bought by a different person (person C) - many miles away, wearing generic clothes in a cafe where people go to work - different hairstyle and facial hair - mask - without having a phone (obv) - navigating there by changing multiple cars wi…

> - ordering the most boring coffee The fatal flaw in the plan: Barista talking to news after person is arrested by FBI: "As soon as they ordered the brewed coffee with no customizations after standing in line for 10 minutes, I knew something was suspicious. Who comes to Starbucks, stands in line for 10 minutes, and then orders boring coffee?"

They said most boring not most plain.

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#276

Post by hinkley »

r3trohack3r wrote: post #95

I have second hand knowledge of lawsuits that have been dropped by the FBI during discovery because it would require them revealing zero days they have on Tor. Recently this has started getting increasing levels of press exposure[1] including in CSAM cases. The FBI has also continued to run CSAM websites after takeover to collect intel, and likely run honeypots for other content. If your adversary is a state actor, p…

Given the statute of limitations on some crimes, I'm surprised they don't rotate out zero days and bulk prosecute a bunch of people using the same one. With a big case they're willing to burn one exploit, why not do the same for ten cases?

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#277

Post by [deleted] »

brookst wrote: post #223
sokoloff wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read it as “the vast majority of people the government is after, the general public is okay with them being pursued.”

Sure. Which is the same as "for some minority of people the government is after, it is 100% acceptable and even desirable for them to use these technologies."

[deleted]

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#278

Post by colordrops »

Fnoord wrote: post #241
photochemsyn wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to various sources, such as Snowden's "Permanent Record", the tor network was designed to allow spies in remote locations to communicate securely with a known endpoint (such as CIA headquarters) without anyone being able to easily trace their exact location. The content of the communication itself would not be readable due to strong encryption, but the metadata (source and destination headers) could reveal…

CIA likely hidden in plain sight so you wouldn't figure out their Tor node. Likely hosted in some DC rest of USA also uses, for example a colo or dedicated at Rackspace. As for Snowden you just described a burner however he would still need to find or know that open WiFi hotspot.

Most coffee shops?

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#279

Post by hinkley »

phil21 wrote: post #266
DoItToMe81 wrote: post #22

I wouldn't get so excited about this. There have been tons of javascript exploits to leak IP addresses in the past, it's more likely that than the FBI running thousands of servers.

> it's more likely that than the FBI running thousands of servers. Why not both? From my experience over the years doing datacenter/transit/fiber/etc. type of infrastructure - just assume a government agency of some sort either outright operates an exit node, or has a wiretap on it. You can be the most trustworthy person in the world operating in the name of freedom - outright working for a say a colo provider. Unles…

In WWII the Allies didn't want the Axis to know they had cracked Enigma. They used what today might be called Parallel Construction in order to make the intel look like bad luck and/or spies. They had to let some attacks happen because there was no way they could have known about them without decrypting communications.

The FBI running hundreds of servers is fairly likely, and could give enough data to suggest that all of their information is just grunt detective work.

Re: The FBI Identified a Tor User

#280

Post by spott »

skippyboxedhero wrote: post #249
bmn__ wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> MMO's provide plentiful means of covertly communicating This is a plot device in http://enwp.org/Little_Brother_%28Doctorow_novel%29 >.

Also in the film Four Lions where terrorists use an online game to communicate (basically an unbranded Club Penguin). Wouldn't particularly recommend watching the film (it isn't bad, it is just depressing...which is the aim) but the media coverage of this does suggest it is occurring.

Also in the first season of the Jack Ryan show (which only bears a very passing resemblance to Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, but has good action)
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