[Cryptography] Justice Department: No Problem With Tor

[Moritz Bartl]

http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-cybersecurity/2015/12/final-moves-on-omnibus-impact-of-the-eu-data-rules-leaks-on-the-presidential-campaign-trail-211810

NO PROBLEM WITH TOR — Justice Department officials said Wednesday they
have not asked the Tor Project to modify its technology to make
identifying online criminals easier. “We are working to use legal means
available to us and the technology available to us” to identify
criminals who use the Tor anonymity network to hide, said one.

Officials spoke with reporters ahead of today’s sentencing of Kirk
Cottom in a federal court in Omaha, Neb., for receiving and accessing
child pornography via websites hidden in the Tor network. Cotton is
among 19 men convicted in connection with illicit websites run by an
Omaha-based administrator, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in
January 2014. Tor Project members, who have demonstrated their
technology for Justice officials, say the anonymity their network offers
can’t be selectively applied. Either it works for everyone or no one.

The DOJ officials also insist they’re not attacking Tor. “It is not
different than using an iPhone or any other kind of device to take a
picture,” the official said. “It’s not the technology, it’s the use of
that technology.”