Hidden websites fall offline following arrest in Ireland

August 05, 2013

A large number of websites shielded by an anonymizing service vanished from the Internet on Saturday, an action that may be linked with an arrest of a man in Ireland.The websites, which appeared to have been supplied connectivity by Freedom Hosting, were only reachable with a web browser configured to use the TOR (The Onion Router) network. The TOR network randomly routes Internet traffic through a worldwide network of servers that help mask identifying information such as IP addresses.Freedom Hosting specialized in supplying connectivity for TOR-configured websites and was widely believed to be connected to a man named Eric Eoin Marques. According to the Independent, an Irish publication, Marques appeared in court on Friday in connection with a U.S. extradition request based on four charges filed in Maryland that he allegedly distributed and promoted child pornography.The newspaper reported that an FBI agent who testified on Friday described the 28-year-old as "the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet." Marques was denied bail and is due to appear in court again on Thursday, the Independent reported. The newspaper did not, however, make a reference to Freedom Hosting.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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