The decentralized networks Tor and I2P suffered numerous DDoS attacks, causing users to face slow browsing. The news received confirmation after Tor officially disclosed the issue following back-to-back user complaints. While they’re addressing the matter, the issue may persist as the attacks keep hitting the networks at intervals.
Tor And I2P Faced DDoS Attacks
Tor and I2P users are persistently bearing slow browsing speeds. The problem affected dark web users globally, causing trouble for privacy freaks.
While it remained an issue, Tor officials have now confirmed suffering DDoS attacks numerous times over the past few months. According to a recent post from the Executive Director of the Tor Project, Isabela Dias Fernandes, confirmed multiple attacks over the past 7 months.
For at least 7 months, several different types of ongoing denial of service (DoS) attacks have affected the Tor network. At some points, the attacks impacted the network severely enough that users could not load pages or access onion services.
Fernandes explained that Tor officials have been working hard to mitigate the issues. But the attacks keep repeatedly happening, with a different pattern each time. Perhaps, that’s why the attackers keep succeeding in disrupting Tor’s connectivity.
We have been working hard to mitigate the impacts and defend the network from these attacks. The methods and targets of these attacks have changed over time and we are adapting as these attacks continue.
For now, Tor hasn’t successfully identified the threat actor(s) behind these attempts and their possible intentions. Nonetheless, they will continue working on strengthening the Tor network.
Alongside Tor, the other popular network I2P is also facing similar threats, as confirmed via an announcement on I2P’s subreddit.
As revealed, the network is facing DDoS attacks for the past few days (unlike the months-long attempts against Tor). The attackers keep flooding the network with floodfill routers, ultimately creating a widespread denial of service. I2P has admitted the poor performance and connectivity issues that trouble its users.
Again, the exact identity of the attackers behind these attacks is unknown. Nor is it confirmed whether the two networks had been targeted by the same threat actor(s).
While the officials keep working on addressing the matter, users might have to bear with such issues meanwhile.
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