The scandal involving a government-backed university and the lethal takedown of Tor users enters another phase. After Tor made allegations against researchers from the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, the institution finally came out with a statement clearing its name on Wednesday.
The response was due to the “inaccurate media reports” that the researchers received $1 million for their efforts in cracking down on Tor users. They did not, however, deny their involvement in the sketchy operation.
They said the institute “abides by the rule of law” but stressed that it “receives no funding for its compliance.” The Software Engineering Institute is mostly funded by the US Defense Department. They have also admitted that the department was its source of data for the FBI operation which saw the identification of several suspects in a drug investigation.
Advocates of civil liberties have denounced the collaboration as it sets a precedent for law enforcement to circumvent warrant requirements. Reuters said that the advocates “suspect that evidence obtained from Tor is being withheld in judicial proceedings.”
“How did the FBI even know what to subpoena?” asked Kate Krauss, spokeswoman for Tor Project. “Did CMU receive funding for something else from the FBI, rather than the ‘subpoenaed’ information?"
Roger Dingledine, director of non-profit Tor Project, has said that the encroachment of law enforcement through Carnegie Mellon University included many innocents in its dragnet operation. “Such action is a violation of our trust and basic guidelines for ethical research,” Dingledine wrote to Wired. “We have been told that the payment to CMU was at least $1 million.” He added that this information came through from “friends in the security community.”
Even Carnegie Mellon University's denial of payment is not stopping Tor Project from its resistance. Krauss has said that they have “many questions about CMU’s new statement,” and have shown no signs of backing down against deanonymizing Tor.
