Tor, based on the acronym The Onion Router, is free software that directs internet traffic through a network of worldwide relays to hide a user’s true location. The analysis revealed two German Tor Directory Authority servers as being under NSA surveillance, as well as several specific IP addresses of the Tor Directory Authority. The XKeyscore program itself is a surveillance program concerned with collection and analysis of data, and was revealed as part of Edward Snowden’s recent surveillance disclosures.Īs TechSpot India reports, the program’s source code has been analysed by members of the Tor project and security specialists for German broadcasters NDR and WDR.

In a post-Wikileaks, post-Snowden world, online security and privacy have become primary concerns for many internet users.īut it seems those intent on keeping pesky government agencies out of their online business may well be shooting themselves in the virtual foot.Īs documents related to the XKeyscore snooping program reveal, the US’s National Security Agency has started focusing its snooping efforts on Linux Journal readers, Tails Linux, and Tor users.

Xkeyscore search tool