Tor Map Reveals Network's Use Across Europe
Chart reveals internet users in Europe and those operating in oppressive regimes are most likely to surf the internet anonymously.
12:36 Monday 18 January 2016
The map shows the Tor nodes through which most of the network's data flows
A new map of the clandestine Tor network, which allows users to remain anonymous on the internet, has revealed the rate at which the system is taking hold in Europe.
The TorFlow project, developed by software visualisation firm Uncharted, shows the activity of the network's relay nodes through users are connecting to the internet and transferring data.
According to the map, most of the network's data flows are between European hubs and the US and the network's busiest data hubs include London, Amsterdam, Paris, Bern and the German university town of Marburg.
Tor (The Onion Router) is made up of thousands of volunteers who allow their computers to be used as nodes through which users connect to the internet and access the so-called Dark Web which host websites that cannot be found through common search engines.
When users surf the web via Tor their IP addresses and internet activity is bounced through these nodes making it extremely difficult for authorities to trace.
The map reveals an activity spike in Iran during anti-government demonstrations that gripped the country in 2011-12, and that Tor activity in the country fell away suddenly after Iranian authorities cracked down on the protests.
The data also shows there was a sudden drop of Tor activity in the UK and the US in October 2011, at the same time researchers claimed to have discovered a way to crack the network.
In 2014 the Russian government offered four million roubles (£65,000) to anyone who could break Tor.
