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Tor is a proxy service that obscures users’ IP address and origin by relaying traffic through various nodes on the Tor network. This effectively anonymises internet traffic, rendering it untraceable, since the site will see the IP address of the Tor node rather than the true IP of the visitor.

Things can go wrong, though, when the node is used for some nefarious purpose. This was discovered by Alexander Janssen, who operated a Tor Node in Germany. This is the second time he’s been in trouble with local law enforcement agencies, and hopefully the last: he shut down his node for good. Officers forced entry into Janssen’s home, detained him, then searched the premises. The reason? A bomb threat had been made through the Tor Node. Janssen was released without charge.

his is an all too common situation, with nodes being seized by the police in German last year as a result of a child pornography investigation. Janssen’s earlier run-in with the heat was also a result of traffic relayed by his node. Obviously Janssen has had enough; though he’ll stay involved in the Tor project, he’s not running a node anymore.

I can’t do this anymore; my wife and I were scared to death. I’m at the end of my civil courage

ArsTechnica’s take on the story comments:

the country’s attempts to harass Tor node operators reflect an unwillingness to distinguish between a legitimate technical service and criminal behavior

We disagree. The police have to start somewhere, and the Tor node is the first thing they see. If they’re arresting the wrong people then it’s a sign of insufficient training and knowledge for those involved. To say this is harassment is misleading: both of Janssen’s encounters have been resolved, and his reputation untarnished. Incompetence? Yes. Deliberate unfairness? We don’t think so.

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