Tor operator charged for child porn transmitted over his servers

[menotu]

by Dan Goodin - Nov 29, 2012

Austrian man is latest to be held responsible for traffic passing through Tor.

An Austrian operator of Tor servers—that were used to anonymously route huge amounts of traffic over the Internet—has been charged with distributing child pornography. This comes after police detected illegal images traversing one of the nodes he maintains.

William Weber, a 20-year-old IT administrator in Graz, Austria, said nine officers searched his home on Wednesday after presenting him with a court order charging him with distribution and possible production of child pornography. The crimes carry penalties of as many as 10 years in prison. Police from the Styrian Landeskriminalamt, which has jurisdiction over the Austrian state of Styria, confiscated 20 computers as well as a game console, iPads, external hard drives, USB thumb drives, and other electronics. Evidence cited in the document showed that one of seven Tor Project exit nodes he operated transported illegal images.

http://ars.to/115JEXb

[menotu]

It's my understanding that if the persons PC/.Serrver is the "out node" everything that's accessed is as though that system is accessing the site (which I guess is sort of obvious   )

And am I correct in thinking that only 3 routers are actually used?  i.e  the in router > pass through router > and the out router

As an example, if you want to go to a certain site - say www.eff.org  Tor may use the in router "number" 123 > on to the pass through router  "number" 2187 > and then onto the out router "number" 99.

If again accessing that same site - www.eff.org - it would then use 3 different routers; the in router "number" 1,639 > on to the pass through router  "number" 2,728 > and then onto the out router "number" 876 and so on..............

Thus each access "passes  through"  a different set of routers (but still only three routers)

I think I may also of read that there are "only" 3,000 + routers in use at any one time?

Note: the router numbers I've mentioned in the examples are just "made up" numbers to try and explain my thinking

[Crow]

Let's sue all the bridge operators for letting thieves and murderers to escape from justice, weapons comes to Mexico from USA through bridges, drugs goes to USA through bridges, let's put in jail all operators

[tschommer]

+1!

Exactly my thoughts. Sue all car manufacturers, whatever. Let's just sue everybody!

Oh common sense, where art thou? 

[kjpetrie]

If I bought some land either side of the border and built a bridge without a customs post, I probably would be committing an offence.

Isn't it also common sense that if I join a network designed to prevent recognition of what flows through it, I'm highly likely to find myself passing on illegal material?

If Austrian law makes me responsible for everything that passes through my computer, then I should not set up a link to pass unknown content on a computer in Austria.

How does this differ in principle from setting up an open mail relay which could then be used to send spam?

Common sense is an all-round concept (and dictates it's time to put on the asbestos suit). 

[Wildman]

Perhaps a better solution would be to replace the ones who made the laws, not the enforcers, they just the grunts...but they do enjoy it...

[Just17]

Isn't it also common sense that if I join a network designed to prevent recognition of what flows through it, I'm highly likely to find myself passing on illegal material?

It is possible ....  maybe even probable .....  that illegal content will flow through any one particular node.

If Austrian law makes me responsible for everything that passes through my computer, then I should not set up a link to pass unknown content on a computer in Austria.

On this I am ignorant ......  does Austrian law do this?

I bear in mind that in a lot of locales this has not been determined as yet.

If it is so then I guess Youtube and others had best stop supplying their service into those locales that have this 'law'.

[menotu]

I recall reading that one person began using Tor with the incorrect assumption that by using it she could then log in to her Facebook account and she would have total anonymity - I'm guessing she got a big  "wake up call" when she next logged into her "normal"  Facebook account.

I hasten to add that she was not a PCLinuxOS forum member (not as far as I know anyway    )

[muungwana]

Isn't it also common sense that if I join a network designed to prevent recognition of what flows through it, I'm highly likely to find myself passing on illegal material?

It is possible ....  maybe even probable .....  that illegal content will flow through any one particular node.

If Austrian law makes me responsible for everything that passes through my computer, then I should not set up a link to pass unknown content on a computer in Austria.

On this I am ignorant ......  does Austrian law do this?

I bear in mind that in a lot of locales this has not been determined as yet.

If it is so then I guess Youtube and others had best stop supplying their service into those locales that have this 'law'.

To the most part it is about chain of responsibility.

When you post a mail for example,the postal office will request you add a return address.If anything happen to the package,atleast they will know who sent it.Ofcourse a poster could lie about the return address but atleast the post office made an effort to know who the sender is.

When you sign up for internet service,they will get the contact information of the person who is signing up and can contact them if anything happen with the traffic they are sending.

Run a tor network or an internet cafe and you are on the hook for anything your users transmit unless you can identify them.It is like they say,if something goes wrong,the person who can not point a finger at somebody else is the person who will get most if not all the flack.

[Just17]

Isn't it also common sense that if I join a network designed to prevent recognition of what flows through it, I'm highly likely to find myself passing on illegal material?

It is possible ....  maybe even probable .....  that illegal content will flow through any one particular node.

If Austrian law makes me responsible for everything that passes through my computer, then I should not set up a link to pass unknown content on a computer in Austria.

On this I am ignorant ......  does Austrian law do this?

I bear in mind that in a lot of locales this has not been determined as yet.

If it is so then I guess Youtube and others had best stop supplying their service into those locales that have this 'law'.

To the most part it is about chain of responsibility.

When you post a mail for example,the postal office will request you add a return address.If anything happen to the package,atleast they will know who sent it.Ofcourse a poster could lie about the return address but atleast the post office made an effort to know who the sender is.

When you sign up for internet service,they will get the contact information of the person who is signing up and can contact them if anything happen with the traffic they are sending.

Run a tor network or an internet cafe and you are on the hook for anything your users transmit unless you can identify them.It is like they say,if something goes wrong,the person who can not point a finger at somebody else is the person who will get most if not all the flack.

That might be true in your locale, but is not in other locales .....  such as here and others.

Do you mean to say they will not handle post that does NOT have a return address?

[muungwana]

@Just17,
I said "request",not "require".

Here in upstate new york atleast,when you submit something to be posted,the first thing they do is look at the address to see if anything wrong stick out,like if you have a wrong stamp for example,and then they will turn it around to see if a return address is present and will ask for it to be added it if it is not there.

I do not know if they will refuse the package if a poster decline to add a return address,but i do know they always ask,or atleast, they always asked me when i did not.

It makes sense though,what happen if a package can not be delivered,if there is no return address,then the only thing they can do is either keep it for themselves or through it away or sell it.

a quick google check on the matter came up with this: http://askville.amazon.com/send-packages-people-return-address/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=30204337

[horusfalcon]

Perhaps a better solution would be to replace the ones who made the laws, not the enforcers, they just the grunts...but they do enjoy it...

I am reminded of the words of M. de Tallyrand:  "Hell is a place where the politicians are French, the police are German, and the cooks are British."

(I would humbly submit, for those possibly offended by this wry observation of his, that M. de Tallyrand was a consummate French statesman, so that it is, in some small measure, self-reflective.)

Yes, replacing the ones who made the laws works if you can replace ALL of them with non-lawyer types.  Good luck with that.

Gotta run; duty calls.

Later On,
D

[Just17]

@Just17,
I said "request",not "require".

Here in upstate new york atleast,when you submit something to be posted,the first thing they do is look at the address to see if anything wrong stick out,like if you have a wrong stamp for example,and then they will turn it around to see if a return address is present and will ask for it to be added it if it is not there.

I do not know if they will refuse the package if a poster decline to add a return address,but i do know they always ask,or atleast, they always asked me when i did not.

It makes sense though,what happen if a package can not be delivered,if there is no return address,then the only thing they can do is either keep it for themselves or through it away or sell it.

a quick google check on the matter came up with this: http://askville.amazon.com/send-packages-people-return-address/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=30204337

Having read from that link it appears there is a 'rule' that enforces a requirement for a return address on packages.

Does the same apply to letters?

[Wildman]

Perhaps a better solution would be to replace the ones who made the laws, not the enforcers, they just the grunts...but they do enjoy it...

I am reminded of the words of M. de Tallyrand:  "Hell is a place where the politicians are French, the police are German, and the cooks are British."

(I would humbly submit, for those possibly offended by this wry observation of his, that M. de Tallyrand was a consummate French statesman, so that it is, in some small measure, self-reflective.)

Yes, replacing the ones who made the laws works if you can replace ALL of them with non-lawyer types.  Good luck with that.

Gotta run; duty calls.

Later On,
D

I agree totally, and as its been stated elsewhere by others who know more than I, ""The more time goes by, the less people demand the best, and will accept the corrupted over the honorable....... I also think changing some at a time will eventually correct the problem......(maybe  ) 

[Xenaflux]

Long live Tor.

At least I can read now what's going on in the country I live in , without those " forbidden " notices every 5 minutes.