Pedophiles increasingly turning to 'dark net' to exchange child porn online
May 22, 2012
Pedophiles are turning to the so-called "dark
net" to transmit and exchange child pornography online, using
increasingly sophisticated encryption methods — some originally
developed by the U.S. military — to defeat police.
The
head of the Australian Federal Police hi-tech crime division, Neil
Gaughan, said police were concerned about use of "the onion router," or
TOR, to move some of the worst examples of child pornography around the
world.
The TOR is a system of interconnected computer
nodes located all over the world that can be used to hide the identity
of the person sending the material.
"What we
have recently uncovered — this is within the last six months, probably
this year — is people starting to use TOR to transfer child abuse
material, making it increasingly more and more difficult for law
enforcement to get in and do their work," Gaughan said.
The
onion router — so named because each layer of encryption must be peeled
back like an onion — was originally developed by the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory as a means of protecting information on the
internet.
Users download a program and become a
node of the TOR network. As the material moves through each node it
receives an additional layer of encryption. It also makes life harder
for the police, who must potentially operate in as many legal
jurisdictions as there are nodes.
The TOR network is used by those who wish to conceal their identity or their web history.
TOR users can browse web pages anonymously or send material without disclosing their identity or location.
TOR
is used by political dissidents seeking to evade Internet censorship
regimes or to communicate with supporters outside their country. It is
also used by businesses or government authorities for legitimate
reasons.
However, the promise of anonymity is making it the carriageway of choice for online pedophiles.
looking to source or trade child abuse images.
"Any
new technology that comes in or any new way of trying to hide yourself
on the internet, these blokes are on to it like a rat up a drainpipe,"
Gaughan said. "It seems to be the preferred mode of transmission of
hard-core offenders, based on what we're seeing."
Back to News List