Russia offers $111,000 for TOR user identification

The Russian government is offering a $111,0000 reward for information leading to the identification of TOR users. Russia contains the fifth largest TOR user base in the world and the offer is more likely a further attempt at restricting internet use by whom the government considers dissenters.

The Guardian reports that an expert on surveillance and security services, Andrei Soldatov, says the interior ministry might be exploring possible ways to restrict Tor. But the fact that the tender was publicly announced meant that those seeking greater government control of the internet had defined their next target and were sending "yet another signal" to the online community, he argued.

"It's not important if the Russian government is able to block Tor or not," Soldatov said. "The importance is that they're sending signals that they are watching this. People will start to be more cautious."

But blogger, journalist and web entrepreneur Anton Nosik doubted that the Tor research tender would have any effect, arguing that the interior ministry was not a serious player among the various government agencies surveilling the internet but was now "trying to make a name for itself"