Use of Anonymous Tor Network Surges in Response to NSA Revelations

Internet users throughout the world have signed up in droves for anonymity software that allows them to live and interact online without international governments being able to monitor their activity.

The Tor Project reported that the number of people subscribed to its service has doubled since June, when former National Security agency contractor, Edward Snowden, revealed that United States intelligence analysts were secretly tracking global internet activity. Short for "The Onion Project," which implies of layers anonymity, Tor conceals a computer's location and relays an individual's messages, search queries, and other functions through a series of encryptions.

While the numbers have not been directly attributed to the NSA leak, the number of Americans using Tor jumped 75 percent between June 1, just days before the Snowden leak, and August 27, 2013. US citizens now make up 17.54 percent of the daily Tor traffic, making Americans the only nationality to surpass 10 percent of the networks' user base.

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