Twitter is now available on the dark web with its first-ever .Onion domain accessible through Tor browser for those facing government censorship.
While Russia is blocking and banning social media platforms in the wake of its attack on Ukraine, Twitter has announced to launch Tor Onion Service to allow users continued access to the site. Simply put: you can now access Twitter on dark web without the need of using VPN although it is advised to use VPN at all times.
Twitter Launching Tor Onion Service
Russia may have blocked Twitter and Facebook on Friday, Twitterati at least would not face any issues using the platform as Twitter has launched a Tor onion service domain exclusively to let users access the site on the following address:
https://twitter3e4tixl4xyajtrzo62zg5vztmjuricljdp2c5kshju4avyoid.onion
The Tor site is designed to work efficiently over the Tor network to offer easy access to the site and ensure user anonymity. However, it is surprising that Twitter isn’t promoting the Tor mirror site officially and has quietly announced the project via cybersecurity expert Alec Muffet.
Muffet helped the company create the Tor destination. Here’s what Muffet posted about Twitter’s new Tor onion service. Additionally, Tor network has also been added to Twitter’s supported browsers list.
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How does Tor Works?
Tor is an anonymity network that routes a user’s internet connection via different servers. These servers are usually run by volunteers located worldwide. While a VPN generally consists of a single proxy server or hop, Tor utilizes three relays prior to connecting to the public internet, allowing users to surf the web anonymously and hide their physical location.
Though you can access Twitter’s standard website through Tor, the new service adds multiple protection layers to ensure a more anonymized browsing. Moreover, the latest version is designed especially for Tor.
If you want to visit Twitter’s Tor onion site, download the Tor browser to anonymize your web traffic and use the URL mentioned above to access Twitter through Tor.
Can Russians Access Twitter via Tor?
For users to access the Tor version of Twitter in Russia, Tor must be available in the country. According to data compiled by Tor Project, until March 2022, 12.77% of Tor relay users connected from Russia.
Therefore, if anyone can connect to the Tor network in Russia can use Twitter’s new onion service since some Russian ISPs have blocked Tor while some haven’t, explained the Tor Project representative.
![Child sexual abuse is a burning issue right now. It's a sad reality that people are forcing innocent kids to participate in torturous sexual acts to make money. Thankfully, the tech community is working towards eliminating this social evil. [wp_ad_camp_4] Reportedly, Apple will be launching a new machine learning-based system to be released later this year as part of the upcoming versions of iOS and iPadOS to ensure enhanced child safety. The system will scan iPhones across the USA to detect the presence of child sexual abuse images. Moreover, the messages app in iPhones will issue a warning whenever a child part of iCloud Family receives or tries to send sexually explicit images. About the New CSAM System Apple has developed a system dubbed neuralMatch to located child sexual abuse material/CSAM, and it will scan US customers' devices. The system will be launched soon amidst reservations from the cybersecurity fraternity as they claim authoritative governments could misuse the system to perform surveillance on their citizens. However, Apple claims that the system is a new "application of cryptography" to limit the distribution of CSAM online without impacting user privacy. How NeuralMatch Works? The new system will find matches for already known/available CSAM before storing an image in iCloud Photos. If a match is found, a human reviewer will conduct a thorough assessment and notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about that user, and the account will be disabled. "This innovative new technology allows Apple to provide valuable and actionable information to NCMEC and law enforcement regarding the proliferation of known CSAM," Apple noted. [wp_ad_camp_4] "Before an image is stored in iCloud Photos, an on-device matching process is performed for that image against the known CSAM hashes," and the system has "extremely high level of accuracy and ensures less than a one in one trillion chance per year of incorrectly flagging a given account," the company wrote. Could It be Exploited? Critics of this system have raised concerns that this technology might be expanded for scanning phones for banned/prohibited content or political views/speech. In addition to this, Apple is planning to scan users' encrypted messages to locate sexually explicit content as a separate child safety measure. It is worth noting that the detection system will flag images of child pornography already present in the center's database. So, parents need not worry about it. According to John Hopkins University's top cryptography researcher, Matthew Green, this system can be used to target and trap innocent people by sending them objectionable images to trigger a match with child porn images. Apple's algorithm could be fooled easily, and anyone could be framed because such systems are easily tricked. "Researchers have been able to do this pretty easily. What happens when the Chinese government says, 'Here is a list of files that we want you to scan for… Does Apple say no? I hope they say no, but their technology won't say no," Green stated. [wp_ad_camp_4] Did you enjoy reading this article? Like our page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.](jpg/apple-scan-us-iphones-for-child-sexual-abuse-content.jpg)
