Freedom Hosting

{{Short description|Defunct Tor web hosting service}}

{{Infobox website

| name = Freedom Hosting

| logo =

| logocaption =

| screenshot = File:Freedom Hosting Tor.jpg

| collapsible =

| collapsetext =

| num_users = Half of all Tor sites[http://www.ehackingnews.com/2013/08/almost-half-of-tor-sites-compromised-by.html Almost Half of Tor sites compromised by FBI] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618234058/https://www.ehackingnews.com/2013/08/almost-half-of-tor-sites-compromised-by.html |date=2021-06-18 }}, E-hacking News, (August 04, 2013).

| founder = Eric Eoin Marques

| programming_language = PHP

| website_type = Web hosting provider

}}

Freedom Hosting was a Tor specialist web hosting service that was established in 2008. At its height in August 2013, it was the largest Tor web host.{{cite news|last1=Howell O'Neill|first1=Patrick|title=An in-depth guide to Freedom Hosting, the engine of the Dark Net|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/eric-marques-tor-freedom-hosting-child-porn-arrest/|access-date=30 May 2015|date=4 August 2013}}

Anonymous denial-of-service attack

In 2011, Anonymous launched Operation Darknet, an anti-child pornography effort against activities on the dark web. One of the largest sites, Lolita City, hosted by Freedom Hosting,{{cite journal|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, D.C.|date=7 July 2015|first=Kristin|last=Finklea|title=Dark Web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700882/m1/1/high_res_d/R44101_2015Jul07.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027153951/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc700882/m1/1/high_res_d/R44101_2015Jul07.pdf|archive-date=27 October 2021|access-date=4 December 2021|via=University of North Texas Libraries|page=6}} was subject to a denial-of-service attack (DDoS), and later had its member list leaked following an SQL injection attack, as was The Hidden Wiki which linked to it.{{cite news|last1=Gallagher|first1=Sean|title=Alleged Tor hidden service operator busted for child porn distribution|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/lleged-tor-hidden-service-operator-busted-for-child-porn-distribution/|access-date=30 May 2015|date=4 August 2013}}

Federal investigation

News reports linked a Firefox browser vulnerability to a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operation targeting Freedom Hosting's owner, Eric Eoin Marques. In August 2013, it was discovered that the Firefox browsers in many older versions of the Tor Browser Bundle were vulnerable to a JavaScript attack, as NoScript was not enabled by default.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/oct/04/egotistical-giraffe-nsa-tor-document |title='Peeling back the layers of Tor with EgotisticalGiraffe' – read the document |newspaper=Guardian |date=4 October 2013 }} This attack was being exploited to send users' MAC and IP addresses and Windows computer names to the attackers.{{cite web |url=http://www.infoworld.com/t/data-security/tor-browser-bundle-windows-users-susceptible-info-stealing-attack-224157 |title=Tor Browser Bundle for Windows users susceptible to info-stealing attack |first=Ted |last=Samson |work=InfoWorld |date=5 August 2013 |access-date=28 April 2014}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/08/freedom-hosting/ |title=Feds Are Suspects in New Malware That Attacks Tor Anonymity |first=Kevin |last=Poulsen |magazine=Wired |date=8 May 2013 |access-date=29 April 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://ghowen.me/fbi-tor-malware-analysis |title=FBI Malware Analysis |first=Gareth |last=Owen |access-date=6 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417081750/http://ghowen.me/fbi-tor-malware-analysis/ |archive-date=17 April 2014 }}{{self-published inline|date=April 2014}} The FBI acknowledged they were responsible for the attack in a 12 September 2013 court filing in Dublin;{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/09/freedom-hosting-fbi/ |title=FBI Admits It Controlled Tor Servers Behind Mass Malware Attack |first=Kevin |last=Poulsen |magazine=Wired |date=13 September 2013 |access-date=22 December 2013}} further technical details from a training presentation leaked by Edward Snowden showed that the codename for the exploit was EgotisticalGiraffe.{{cite news |first=Bruce |last=Schneier |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/04/tor-attacks-nsa-users-online-anonymity |title=Attacking Tor: how the NSA targets users' online anonymity |work=The Guardian |date=4 October 2013 |access-date=22 December 2013}}

Notable hosted sites

  • HackBB{{cite news|title=Child abuse sites on Tor compromised by malware|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23573048|access-date=2 August 2015|date=5 August 2013}}
  • Lolita City
  • Tor Mail{{cite news|last1=Poulsen|first1=Kevin|title=If You Used This Secure Webmail Site, the FBI Has Your Inbox|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/01/tormail/|access-date=30 May 2015|date=27 January 2014}}
  • The Hidden Wiki{{cite news|last1=Howell O'Neill|first1=Patrick|title=An in-depth guide to Freedom Hosting, the engine of the Dark Net|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/eric-marques-tor-freedom-hosting-child-porn-arrest/|access-date=3 August 2015|date=4 August 2013}}

Successor

After the closure of Freedom Hosting, a new service, Freedom Hosting II, was created. In 2017, it ran 20 percent of all websites on the Tor network.{{cite news|last1=Cox|first1=Joseph|title=We Talked to the Hacker Who Took Down a Fifth of the Dark Web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/talking-to-the-hacker-who-took-down-a-fifth-of-the-dark-web/|access-date=June 25, 2017|date=February 4, 2017}} It was taken permanently offline later in 2017 during a coordinated hacking attack.{{cite web | last=ID.nl | first=Redactie | title=Hackers leggen deel 'dark web' plat | website=ID.nl | date=26 August 2022 | url=https://id.nl/huis-en-entertainment/computer-en-gaming/software/hackers-leggen-deel-dark-web-plat | language=nl | access-date=17 April 2024}}{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Daniel | title=The Evolution of the Dark Web – Radware Blog | website=DDoS Services | date=23 August 2017 | url=https://www.radware.com/blog/security/2017/08/dark-web-evolution/ | access-date=17 April 2024}}

References