Author: Isidor Zeuner 2014-12-08 16:15:14
Published on: 2014-12-08T16:15:14+00:00
The concern over users being forced off of Tor via DOS attacks is not alarming because it would be a conscious choice for users who decide to abandon their privacy. However, assuming Bitcoin's success and growth in the future, very few users will make decisions regarding their privacy, so automated fallback or control over exits would be a concern. To achieve more synergy between Bitcoin users of varying skill levels, it is suggested that there be a cleaner separation between technical mechanisms and policies suitable for users without technical skills.Core development would provide mechanisms by which it is possible to run Bitcoin on different constraints, including ways to handle attacks specific to the Tor/Bitcoin combination. Distributors of consumer wallets can use this research to distribute their wallet with policies less prone to Tor-specific attacks. The greatest common denominator must be figured out to keep Bitcoin stable and running while still leaving room for customized policies.Tying Bitcoin to Tor too deeply does not seem like a good idea since most apps don't need onion routing, and Tor is large, complicated, and could be a liability in the future. It would be interesting to explore alternatives for Tor, but completely abandoning it would mean that users would have to agree to have their transactions correlated to their IP address or trust their transactions to a third party where they are not subject to the security guarantees provided by Bitcoin's logic.Many suggestions related to attacks involving Tor/Bitcoin involve extra effort required for Tor users on Bitcoin in order to protect themselves against these attacks. Hence, exploring if Tor's privacy guarantees can come for free would be interesting. If it cannot be guaranteed to work completely for free, the question would be to what extent the required extra effort should be shared among the network, and to what extent users requiring improved privacy should use their resources to make it possible.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T14:20:57.240354+00:00