Tribler, the peer-to-peer decentralized BitTorrent client, recently released an anonymity engine, based on Tor. Tor is free software, originally developed by the US Navy, for online anonymity. However, the people behind Tor have made a cursory cryptanalysis of Tribler.
They’ve found severe deficiencies in the encryption. The code that generates the encryption keys is weak, the fallbacks are lousy, and in the words of one Tribler forums user: “Tribler software’s crypto is completely broken”.
After this verbal thrashing, the Tribler frontpage updated with:
“Do not put yourself in danger. Our anonymity is not yet mature.”
“Tribler does not protect you against spooks and government agencies. We are a torrent client and aim to protect you against lawyer-based attacks and censorship. With help from many volunteers we are continuously evolving and improving.”
In the meantime, stick to an anonymous VPN service if you plan on torrenting.
(Photo: Tribler)
