The Tor Project on Monday said it has removed a large number of relays from its network for engaging in “a high-risk, for-profit scheme.”
“This financial scheme is promising monetary gains with cryptocurrency tokens, and is operated by third parties without the endorsement or approval of the Tor Project,” the Tor Project said in a blog post.
A network relay is a server that passes along internet traffic between users and websites, which, in Tor’s case, helps to increase anonymity and privacy online. Tor relays are run by volunteers across the world.
While the Tor Project did not state exactly how many relays it removed, the organization said it chose to remove them to protect its network from malicious actors and ensure the safety and integrity of its community. The Tor Project confirmed to Bleeping Computer that the relays it removed are linked to ATOR, which claims to support wider adoption of ToR through on-chain incentives.
The Threat of Malicious Relays
According to the Tor Project, while the network’s openness fosters resilience, it also makes it susceptible to threats like Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks.
Relays engaging in for-profit schemes pose a threat to the network, the organization said. These schemes can “attract individuals with malicious intent, put users at risk, or disrupt the volunteer-driven spirit that sustains the Tor community.”
To maintain the overall health of the network, the Tor Project has relay requirements, relay policies, and criteria for disqualifying harmful relays.
When a relay does not meet its requirements, the organization attempts to address the issue with the relay operators and, if it is unresolved, proposes to its directory authorities to remove the relay.
Commenting on the relays it removed from its network, the Tor Project said: “we engaged with relay operators and were often presented with scenarios in which relay operators associated with this scheme were putting themselves at risk by lacking the awareness of what project they were actually contributing to or operating relays in unsafe or high-risk regions.”
The Stand Against Financial Schemes
The Tor Project said it has explored offering financial incentives to relay operators and found that it could lead to issues like “over-reliance on a central entity, which could put user anonymity at risk in designs that prioritize some traffic, to legal classification and liability concerns that would arise from the introduction of real money to loss of location diversity and many more.”
“The criticism of Web3 was very valid: if we add a profit motive, we centralize the services. Look at what happened to industries from crypto to telecom: they became oligopolistic cartels,” a community member commented under the Tor Project’s blog post.
For now, the organization is exploring new ways to incentivize and support relay operators in ways that align with its values. This includes non-monetary rewards and recognition, and providing more resources and guidance to those contributing to the network. The goal is to foster a healthy, diverse, and resilient network powered by a community deeply committed to privacy, freedom, and open-source principles.
Enhance Your Safety With a VPN
While the Tor network provides a high level of anonymity and privacy, combining it with a VPN adds an extra layer of security, further protecting users from surveillance and cyber threats.
We recommend using a no-logs VPN in addition to the Tor browser for complete protection.
To learn more about Tor, check out our Tor browser safety guide.
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