Author: Peter Todd 2014-08-20 00:16:28
Published on: 2014-08-20T00:16:28+00:00
Jeff Garzik commented on the value of encryption and the possibility of deducing information by observing packet sizes and timings. However, this statement is incorrect as even the NSA cannot consistently monitor non-targeted operations due to limitations on upstream bandwidth and other resources. The more encrypted information flowing over the internet, the more difficult it is for attackers to deanonymize individuals. This is similar to CoinJoin which creates statistical noise to make the attacker's job more difficult. In addition, the Bitcoin P2P protocol has natural anti-traffic analysis properties due to its asynchronous nature. While MITM attacks are a concern, conducting them on a large scale requires significant resources that do not exist. The NSA has to be selective in using them for fear of detection, and detecting these types of attacks is an improvement over the current situation. Using Tor by default in Bitcoin Core would be an easy way to enable encryption and authentication, protecting all Tor users from surveillance. To accomplish this, Debian/Ubuntu packages could depend on Tor, and an install-time script could set up the hidden service. The Tor developers welcome the additional load on the Tor network that Bitcoin would add.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T02:14:45.888497+00:00