When it comes to your online identity people are very protective of it. When it comes to remaining secret, some people decide to use anonymity networks such as Tor to help avoid detection online. While good the Tor network isn’t perfect so as a result, MIT has created a new anonymity network named Riffle.
The new network uses mixnet, a system where servers switch the order of messages they’ve received. The result was that as long as one server is safe, the privacy hidden behind the Riffle network will remain unchallenged. Even if a server is compromised the network doesn’t open up, unlike traditional anonymity networks which would use expose themselves after a single breach.
Riffle has more than just a little increase, taking about a tenth of the time it would traditionally take anonymity networks to transmit the data. While the new network sounds great, and has many benefits the system is still not ready for full deployment.
With more and more people becoming aware of tracking and governments requiring more companies to track, monitor and analyse users viewing behaviour, the network could take off as more people become aware of their privacy and the unrestricted communications the internet was created from.
