As a Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator, you are tasked with tracing a series of illegal transactions believed to originate from the dark web. You know the transactions were made using Tor, a browser providing anonymity. However, in an authoritarian country where the usage of the Tor network is restricted, the suspect is believed to be using an undisclosed Tor network feature to bypass these restrictions. What feature is likely being used in this scenario?
In environments where the usage of the Tor network is restricted, individuals can use Tor Bridge Nodes to bypass these restrictions. Unlike standard Tor relays, bridge nodes are not listed in the public Tor directory, making them harder for censors to detect and block. This makes them an effective tool for circumventing restrictions imposed by authoritarian regimes.
C < https://community.torproject.org/relay/types-of-relays/#:~:text=Tor%20bridges%20are%20relays%20in,and%20governments%20to%20block%20them.
The Tor relay nodes are publicly available in the directory list, but the bridge node is different from relay nodes. Bridge nodes are nodes that are not published or listed in the public directory of Tor nodes.
TOR relays are public; bridges are not.