An Assessment of Current Attacks on Anonymous Networks

Anonymous networks are important for maintaining one’s privacy on the internet; however, these networks can be used for both good and bad. While a humanitarian worker may use one to spread the word about atrocities committed by an oppressive regime, a person with malicious intent might use it to compromise a system anonymously. To this extent, it is important for law enforcement to understand anonymous networks and how they can be countered in a criminal investigation. Many attacks against networks such as Tor already exist. Some of these attacks require resources inaccessible to the average investigator. (Published abstract provided)