Lizard Patrol, the hacker group that brought down the server of gaming giants Microsoft and Sony is setting its aim to a new target, Tor or The Onion Router an internet service that provides anonymity to its user. The hacker group is infamous for bringing down the Sony's PlayStation Now and Microsoft's Xbox Live networks on Christmas day.
On a post on their Twitter account, the hacker collective posted; "To clarify, we are no longer attacking PSN or Xbox. We are testing our new Tor 0day." The hacker group is trying to crack into Tor's server and disturb or maybe even destroy its relay points. The Onion Router provides internet users complete anonymity by bouncing the user's packets of data into different network of free and volunteer nodes. The hacker group is attempting to gain administrative control of the Tor's network of nodes. If the hacker group could pull the hack and can gain unlimited access to even just a few of the nodes, it could spell security compromises to a lot of users. Recent reports show that the Lizard Squad has already control of more than 8,000 of Tor's relay; this figure represents almost half of the entire Tor relay. This alarming figure can bring huge security implications over the Tor network.
The attack on Tor's network started Dec 9. The primary motive of the attack is still unclear however on a Tweet posted in the hacker groups official accounts said "Only hackers, miscreants and pedophiles use Tor."
The Onion Router was initially funded by the United States Department of Defense and is still used regularly by many government agencies. Tor's unique brand of packet transmission requires every bit of data be passed to many independent nodes, a technique that enables the data to be completely secure and untraceable. However with these attacks launched against its network, the future of online anonymity hangs in a balance.
