An attempt to crack Tor was one of many projects hackers discovered when they broke into Russian intelligence contractor SyTech.

Dark Reading Staff, Dark Reading

July 24, 2019

1 Min Read

When hackers from the 0v1ru$ group breached the server of SyTech, a contractor for Russian Federal Security Service FSB, they stole approximately 7.5 terabytes of data that included descriptions of internal projects. One of these was an attempt to crack the Tor browser.

BBC Russia first reported on the breach, which occurred on July 13. The intruders replaced SyTech's homepage with a "yoba face," or a smiley common among Internet trolls, and they shared the wealth of information they discovered with other attack groups and journalists.

It's unclear whether attempts to de-anonymize Tor were successful, the report states. It seems the experimental tactics mostly relied on luck. Tor lets people conceal location and Internet use; when people connect, Internet service providers know they're using it but not which sites are visited. The FSB can demand to know whether Tor is being used but wanted to learn more, so it attempted to detect which websites were being visited through the Tor browser.

The attempt to de-anonymize Tor was one of many projects discovered in the SyTech breach. Others included efforts to search email servers of major companies, collect data on social media users, and learn how Russia's Internet interacts with external networks.

Read more details here.

 

Black Hat USA returns to Las Vegas with hands-on technical Trainings, cutting-edge Briefings, Arsenal open-source tool demonstrations, top-tier security solutions, and service providers in the Business Hall. Click for information on the conference and to register.

About the Author(s)

Dark Reading Staff

Dark Reading

Dark Reading is a leading cybersecurity media site.

Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities, data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to your email inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights