In theme with Russia’s war on anonymity and “extremism” on the internet, the country’s interior ministry is recruiting hackers to decrypt identities of Tor users. The ministry is offering 3.9 million rubles (about $110,000) to anyone who can crack the encryption service, BBC reports, which is a lot better than their previous contest where you get a free refrigerator for giving birth on June 12th.
The contest comes as a response to the recent bill passed by the lower house of parliament which requires personal data of Russian citizens to be stored on servers within its borders.
Even our own freedom-loving government hates Tor. The NSA recently labeled those connected with the encryption service “extremists.” Meanwhile, whistleblower and US enemy #1 Edward Snowden — along with an estimated 210,000 other Russian-dwellers — still uses a version of the encryption service for communication from exile… for now.
The Russian interior ministry claims that the contest aims “to ensure the country’s defense and security.” Applicants must be Russian citizens, and it costs 195,000 rubles ($5,492) to enter. (Image: Reddit)
