Technology Review (11/26/13) David Talbot
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has asked the architects of Tor networking software, which is designed to ensure privacy of Internet browsing, to convert the technology into an Internet standard. The wide adoption of such a standard would facilitate easy inclusion of Tor in a broad range of consumer and business products, and consequently allow far more people to browse the Web without being identified by eavesdroppers. "I think there are benefits that might flow in both directions," says Trinity College's Stephen Farrell. "I think other IETF participants could learn useful things about protocol design from the Tor people, who've faced interesting challenges that aren't often seen in practice. And the Tor people might well get interest and involvement from IETF folks who've got a lot of experience with large-scale systems." When someone installs Tor on their computer and takes other precautions, it provides that system with a directory of relays, or network points, whose owners have volunteered to manage Tor traffic. Tor then guarantees that the user's traffic takes additional steps through the Web. The previous computer address and routing information get encrypted at each stop, so the final destination only sees the address of the most recent relay, and none of the previous ones.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has asked the architects of Tor networking software, which is designed to ensure privacy of Internet browsing, to convert the technology into an Internet standard. The wide adoption of such a standard would facilitate easy inclusion of Tor in a broad range of consumer and business products, and consequently allow far more people to browse the Web without being identified by eavesdroppers. "I think there are benefits that might flow in both directions," says Trinity College's Stephen Farrell. "I think other IETF participants could learn useful things about protocol design from the Tor people, who've faced interesting challenges that aren't often seen in practice. And the Tor people might well get interest and involvement from IETF folks who've got a lot of experience with large-scale systems." When someone installs Tor on their computer and takes other precautions, it provides that system with a directory of relays, or network points, whose owners have volunteered to manage Tor traffic. Tor then guarantees that the user's traffic takes additional steps through the Web. The previous computer address and routing information get encrypted at each stop, so the final destination only sees the address of the most recent relay, and none of the previous ones.
