Stories from a Tor Dev
Tor Project co-founder Roger Dingledine shares operational war stories, censorship battles, and technical milestones from two decades of developing the Tor network.
Summary
Two Decades of Onion Routing and Anonymity
The Tor network provides privacy, anonymity, and censorship circumvention for millions of users worldwide, including journalists, activists, and citizens living under repressive regimes.
Operational Battles Against State Censorship
Roger Dingledine recounts real-world encounters defending Tor against nationwide blocking efforts in Iran, Russia, and China, detailing the development of Pluggable Transports and bridge distribution systems.
Maintaining Network Health and Directory Consensus
Managing a distributed network of thousands of volunteer relay nodes requires continuous defense against malicious exit nodes, Sybil attacks, and directory consensus manipulation.
The Future of Online Privacy and Human Rights
Dingledine emphasizes the vital role of open-source privacy technologies in protecting human rights, privacy, and freedom of expression across the globe.
Related talks
Main Stage·42 min
Silvia Puglisi · Roger Dingledine
Methodologies and metrics for monitoring Tor network health, detecting censorship events, and maintaining user privacy.
Main Stage·48 min
Sam Bent
Veteran darknet vendor Sam Bent shares real-world operational security lessons, dissecting common OPSEC failures, Bitcoin tracking, and digital hygiene.
Main Stage·47 min
Roger Dingledine
Tor Project co-founder Roger Dingledine analyzes Russia's nationwide Tor censorship apparatus (TSPU) and how pluggable transports fight back.


