The Tor browser, known for its anonymity, is striving to reach new heights in the pursuit of encryption keys. To generate encryption keys that are hard to crack, it is necessary to innovate and upgrade the random algorithms.
A key is a parameter that is input data in the algorithm that converts plaintext to ciphertext or ciphertext to plaintext. The encryption algorithm is the transformation function that converts plaintext into ciphertext. A random encryption algorithm is an algorithm that uses a random function generator, producing different outputs for different inputs across different runs.
A key is a parameter that is input data in the algorithm that converts plaintext to ciphertext or ciphertext to plaintext. The encryption algorithm is the transformation function that converts plaintext into ciphertext. A random encryption algorithm is an algorithm that uses a random function generator, producing different outputs for different inputs across different runs.
In early June, Tor released version 6.5a1, which includes an enhanced version compared to previous releases, incorporating a new random algorithm called Selfrando. Recently, researchers from the University of California, Irvine, published a detailed paper on this technology, defining it as an enhanced, practical random loading time technique. In simpler terms, this technology can better prevent hackers from de-anonymizing Tor users.
The Tor team and the researchers from the University of California spent significant effort collaborating to develop Selfrando, aiming to replace the traditional address space random loading technique. The address space random loading technique allows code to transform within its running memory, while Selfrando works by separating code with different functions and randomly distributing their running memory addresses. If an attacker cannot accurately guess the memory address of each code execution, they cannot trigger any vulnerabilities present in memory, thus preventing the Tor browser from running their malicious code and better protecting users’ personal information.
All binary files in Selfrando are built on the same hard drive and are randomly distributed only after being loaded into the main memory. Randomly distributing code in memory might sound like it would slow down performance, but that is not the case. Researchers state that through benchmarking, the Tor enhanced version with Selfrando only increases runtime by less than 1%.
Moreover, the Selfrando technology does not require developers to make significant changes to existing code. Researchers say that using Selfrando does not necessitate changes to build tools or running processes. In most cases, using Selfrando is as simple as adding a new compiler and linker option to the existing build script.
Source: secwk.com
