NSA and GCHQ target Tor network that protects anonymity of web users

• Top-secret documents detail repeated efforts to crack Tor • US-funded tool relied upon by dissidents and activists • Core security of network remains intact but NSA has some success attacking users' computers • Bruce Schneier: the NSA's attacks must be made public • Attacking Tor: the technical details • 'Peeling back the layers with Egotistical Giraffe' – document • 'Tor Stinks' presentation – full document • Tor: 'The king of high-secure, low-latency anonymity'

The National Security Agency has made repeated attempts to develop attacks against people using Tor, a popular tool designed to protect online anonymity, despite the fact the software is primarily funded and promoted by the US government itself.

Top-secret NSA documents, disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, reveal that the agency's current successes against Tor rely on identifying users and then attacking vulnerable software on their computers. One technique developed by the agency targeted the Firefox web browser used with Tor, giving the agency full control over targets' computers, including access to files, all keystrokes and all online activity.

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