Information Security Blog

Tor software updated after hackers crack into systems

Miscreants remain anonymous

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Enterprise Security, 22nd January 2010 13:46 GMT

Privacy-conscious users of the Tor anonymiser network have been urged to upgrade their software, following the discovery of a security breach.

Two of seven directory authorities and a metrics data server were compromised in a hack discovered earlier this month, Tor developer Roger Dingledine explains. The three servers were taken offline and refurbished following the hack.
Fresh identity keys for the two directory authorities hit by the hack were created during the refurbishment process. Users should therefore update to either Tor version 0.2.1.22 or 0.2.2.7-alpha, so that they can use the refurbished servers as conduits for sensitive traffic.

Project volunteers have taken steps to harden systems and prevent a repetition of the hack, the significance of which has been downplayed. Attackers reportedly used Tor’s systems solely as a launchpad for other attacks, without realising that the same servers also hosted Tor code depositories. These were left unaffected by the breach.

“It appears the attackers didn’t realize what they broke into – just that they had found some servers with lots of bandwidth,” Dingledine explains. “The attackers set up some ssh keys and proceeded to use the three servers for launching other attacks.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/22/tor_security_update/

Kind of ironic that a network that provides such a great platform to lauch attacks, becomes a target for such a hack attack.