The BBC has made its international news website accessible via the Tor network to thwart attempts at censorship.
The Tor browser is privacy-oriented software used to access the dark web.
The browser can disguise who is using it and what data is being accessed, which can help people avoid government surveillance and censorship.
Countries like China, Iran and Vietnam are among those who have tried to block access to the BBC News website or programmes.
- BBC news in Ukrainian: https://www.bbcweb3hytmzhn5d532owbu6oqadra5z3ar726vq5kgwwn6aucdccrad.onion/ukrainian
- BBC News in Russian: https://www.bbcweb3hytmzhn5d532owbu6oqadra5z3ar726vq5kgwwn6aucdccrad.onion/russian
- BBC News international: https://www.bbcweb3hytmzhn5d532owbu6oqadra5z3ar726vq5kgwwn6aucdccrad.onion
Instead of visiting bbc.co.uk/news or bbc.com/news, Tor Browser users can visit the new website here: https://www.bbcnewsd73hkzno2ini43t4gblxvycyac5aw4gnv7t2rccijh7745uqd.onion/
Clicking on this web address will not work in a normal web browser.
The dark web copy of the BBC News website will be the international edition as seen from outside the UK.
It will include foreign language services such as BBC Arabic, BBC Persian and BBC Russian.
However, UK only content and services such as BBC iPlayer cannot be accessed due to broadcast rights.
Tor is a way of accessing the Internet that requires software known as the Tor browser to use.
The name is an acronym for The Onion Router. Just as the vegetable has many layers, there are many layers of encryption in the network.
It was originally designed by the US Naval Research Laboratory and continues to be funded by the US Department of State.
It attempts to disguise a person’s location and identity by sending data over the Internet through a very circuitous path involving multiple “nodes” – which in this context means using volunteers’ PCs and computer servers as connection points.
The encryption applied to every hop along this route makes it very difficult to link an individual to any specific activity.
For the website that ultimately receives the request, it looks as if the data traffic does not come from the person responsible, but from the last computer in the chain – the so-called “Exit Node”.
Not only does it allow users to visit regular websites anonymously, but it can also be used as part of a process to host hidden websites that use the .onion extension.
Tor users include the military, law enforcement officials, and journalists, as well as members of the public who wish to keep their browsing activity private.
But it has also been linked to illegal activities, allowing people to visit websites that offer illegal drugs for sale and access child abuse images that don’t appear in normal search engine results and for those who don’t know where they are would go, would not be available see.
While the Tor browser can be used to access the regular version of the BBC News website, using the .onion website has additional benefits.
“Onion services offload scarce exit nodes and preserve end-to-end encryption [and] the self-authenticating domain name resists spoofing,” explains Prof. Steven Murdoch, cybersecurity expert from University College London.
In a statement, the BBC said: “BBC World Service news content is now available on the Tor network for viewers living in countries where BBC News is blocked or restricted. This is in line with the BBC World Service’s mission to provide trusted news from around the world.”
On Wednesday, the BBC also announced the UK’s first interactive voice messaging service for smart speakers.
People using an Amazon Alexa powered device can jump further and get more information about the stories that interest them most.
Add Comment