A Server That Forgets: Exploring Stateless Relays
Running Tor relays requires constant work against adversaries, private and state-backed, who try to undermine the network by attacking the nodes that make it up. On top of that, some operators have to deal with seizures, raids, and direct physical access to hardware. There are precedents in Austria, Germany, the United States, Russia, and likely ma...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights a critical tension in privacy infrastructure: the need for security against physical and digital threats versus the operational realities of maintaining a decentralized network. Stateless systems offer a compelling solution by design—eliminating persistent storage reduces attack surfaces and limits the damage from seizures. The use of TPMs and remote attestation further shifts trust away from operators, a necessary evolution given the history of...