Prime minister David Cameron’s plan to open internet communications to spooks has suffered an upset, after a parliamentary body called a ban on anonymising technologies difficult to enact and politically unacceptable.
Writing in one of its regular briefings, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (Post) noted that anonymous networks such as Tor protect the security and privacy of both citizens and criminals alike, posing a challenge to police.
"There is widespread agreement that banning online anonymity systems altogether is not seen as an acceptable policy option in the UK," it said.
"Even if it were, there would be technical challenges. For example, when the Chinese government attempted to block access to Tor, Tor Project Inc introduced secret entrance nodes to the Tor Network, called ‘bridges’, which are very difficult to block."
Earlier this year Cameron argued that British spies should be able to intercept internet traffic even if it is encrypted, provoking outrage from the cybersecurity industry and businesses that rely on cryptography to protect their data and intellectual property.
As Post’s report notes, services such as Tor are used by journalists, whistleblowers, campaigners and police, as well as those buying or selling drugs, filesharing or planning terrorism.
Whilst the security of such services has been called into question by some security researchers over the past year, the technology has proved fairly resilient to police interference, with drug marketplaces such as Silk Road surviving at least one shutdown by US police.
Acknowledging Tor’s negative effect on crime, Post added that "it has been argued that online drug markets like Silk Road transfer parts of the drug dealing business from the streets to the internet and may shorten the supply chain from drug producers to consumers.
"Some say this can reduce the number of drug-related crimes like robbery and shoplifting, and thus lower the social and economic costs of drug misuse."
The report also said that Tor’s creators had worked with police to help combat crime, with Andrew Lewman, executive director of the project, saying he wishes to work further on this with British authorities.
It also predicted that public concerns over privacy might prompt more people to start using anonymous services, furthering the dilemma for police and the authorities on how to handle them.
