Hi,
a while ago (10.02.2023) I tried to send an email on the tor-talk mailing list but apparently it never got through as it's still awaiting approval. (it wasn't denied either, afaik)
So, I'll try my luck here as this is sort of censorship related, too.
Copy and paste of the email:
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Hi,
recently, there was an interesting side note on the cryptography mailing list [1]. Quote:
(People have written code to predict what continent an anonymous person using Tor is on, based on noticing over a period of time when
their remote system clocks ran faster or slower, assuming that was caused by nighttime versus daytime temperatures.)
I was wondering if any of you know about this and where I could find code that does this? Any links to research and papers would be highly appreciated, too.
Especially, I'm wondering how they do this:
- via differences in the above mentioned system clock (impressive?!) - timing analysis with latency? things like lower latency in Europe as there are more tor relays around compared to Argentina. - do you need to have any prerequisites? e.g. controlling at least one node, or the exit node, or a "clear text" server/hidden service that someone connects to?
Finally, if that's the wrong list, please refer me to the right one. Thanks!
[1]: https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2023-February/038109.html