CloudFlare Shutters Tor User Traffic, 94% Found to be Automated or Malicious

Anonymity is a rare thing these days when you consider how connected and plugged into the world of social media, which often uncovers exactly who we are and often portrays our inner thoughts of the day through a simple status update. When it comes to cybercrooks and hackers surfing the Internet and conducting malicious activities, anonymity is essential in carrying out vicious activities. The Tor web browser is one of the primary sources for cybercrooks to surf the web anonymously but has been shuttered by CloudFlare, a massively-sized content delivery network that has detected most of Tor traffic being automated or malicious.

According to CloudFlare's data across their network, 94% of requests from Tor traffic are either automated requests or malicious content sent through various channels. CloudFlare stated, "That doesn't mean they are visiting controversial content, but instead that they are automated requests designed to harm our customers."

As an answer to the massive amount of automated and malicious traffic sent through the content delivery network, CloudFlare put a sudden stop to the traffic capping all coming from a Tor-based IP address. While the decision to stop such traffic through the network drew controversy and ultimately annoyed legitimate Tor users, at the end of the day CloudFlare is a security company first.

Tor users have been culprits in the spread and propagation of recent destructive malware threats. In fact, malicious Tor users have had run-ins with the spread of ransomware threats by way of exploit kit attacks. As it turns out, most of CloudFlare's clients would rather ban Tor traffic altogether anyway.

CloudFlare has explained that is now intentionally leaving out options within its customer backend panel that would have permitted clients to blacklist Tor IPs. Currently, the panel is only showing the option to whitelist Tor addresses or display a CAPTCHA field so Tor users may be granted access to view sites ported through the CloudFlare network.

There is no doubt that Tor traffic has been a serious issue for webmasters, vulnerable web servers and countless computer users who may have contracted some type of computer virus or malware infection. CloudFlare taking the somewhat controversial steps to stop Tor traffic may continue to draw some criticism. Though, in knowing that an astonishing 94% of Tor traffic is either automated bots or have an outright malicious intent, there may be a new face of “clean” traffic surfing the waves of the Internet today.

Considering CloudFlare is one of nearly 70 notable content delivery networks in existence, a large chunk of Internet traffic that utilizes Tor could be halted when accessing particular sites and parts of the web. Even though a CAPTCHA has been allowed to whitelist certain Tor users, the process is cumbersome at best, and there will be many legitimate web surfers and cybercrooks complaining on the other end. Either way, CloudFlare has made an essential step to help combat the proliferation of malware over the Internet.