For the past seven months, the Tor anonymity network has been the target of multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, its maintainers reported this week. These attacks have been so severe that users have been unable to access pages or onion services. Established in 2003, Tor is a network of more than 7,000 relays that helps users protect their privacy while browsing the web. Although it is used for legitimate purposes, Tor has also been used for illegal activities. DDoS attacks are not new to Tor, with many of them attempting to identify users. In a DDoS attack, the target is overwhelmed with malicious network traffic from multiple sources, which can cause the service to be disrupted by using up resources. The Tor Project has been trying to reduce the effects of the DDoS attacks, but the attackers keep changing their methods, making it difficult. It is not possible to know who is behind the attacks or what their motives are. To strengthen defenses, the Tor Project is adding two new members to its network team to focus on onion service development. Additionally, the organization is asking the community to donate money to fund onion service development, as the Tor Project is free and is funded by donations, as well as support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, US government agencies, individuals, and other third-parties.
This Cyber News was published on www.securityweek.com. Publication date: Wed, 08 Feb 2023 17:22:03 +0000