Russia Offers Reward To Anyone Who Cracks Tor

The Russian government is offering four million roubles (£65,000) to anyone who can crack the anonymous Tor network.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued a tender for an individual or company to devise a reliable way of decrypting data sent using the increasingly popular web browser.

The contest is not open to foreigners to ensure the "defence and security" of the Russian Federation.

To apply, entrants must pay 195,000 roubles (£3,270).

Tor, known as The Onion Router, is a free web browser which can connect to sites on a part of the internet known as the Dark Web.

In Russia alone, there are more than 200,000 users of the browser.

It anonymises users by bouncing the connection between them and a website through thousands of servers around the world.

Dark Web sites cannot be found through common search engines, and data sent through Tor is almost impossible to track.

Documents leaked by whistle-blower Edward Snowden showed that the US National Security Agency has devoted significant resources to hacking Tor.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has previously called the internet a "special CIA project" - and laws are being passed to force popular bloggers to register with the state.

They will be banned from disclosing state or commercial secrets, and from promoting pornography and violence.