The privacy-focused Tor Project is reportedly working on helping Iranians sidestep increased internet restrictions put in place by the country's government on Friday in anticipation of protests.
The Iranian government has blocked access to web-based email services such as Gmail and social networks like Facebook, and has cut web traffic with the kind of encryption used by secure email services and social networks. Now the Tor Project has stepped in, according to a report by Forbes's Andy Greenberg.
The Iranian government uses deep-packet inspection filters to locate and block data encrypted using the Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security protocols, Greenberg reports. SSL and TLS are used for private communications. Tor users also tap the protocols to reach 'bridge' connections that in turn let them reach the Tor network, which can give them access to blocked sites.
The Tor project, which is devoted to providing a system for using the internet anonymously, is developing a method for disguising encrypted connections as innocuous, unencrypted ones. Tor's 'Obfsproxy,' or obfuscated proxy, project would let SSL and TLS data masquerade as data sent using an innocuous protocol such as the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol used for instant messaging.
For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Tor anonymity project looks to help Iranians sidestep Net ban on CNET News.
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