Ator

Client: Ator

Industry: Blockchain Technology

Technology and Platforms: TypeScript, BE:C, Bash, Python, GO, Collector, Oninoo, Victoria Metrics in conjunction with Consul service repository, Grafana, OnioPerf, Shadow, Chutney, Onion Scan, Nyx, Wireshark, Hetzner Cloud, Hashicorp Nomad/Vault/Consul

Background

ATOR is a technology entity that is building the largest global anonymous-routing ecosystem, leveraging a decentralized privacy protocol, on-chain incentives and signature hardware aimed at making fully private and secure internet usage possible.

Their approach combines the use of proprietary hardware, such as the ATOR Router, with innovative protocols such as Proof-of-Uptime to reward users for supporting the network’s infrastructure.

ATOR’s mission is to decentralize the control over internet traffic, preventing any central authority from having the power to shut down services or access user data.

ATOR partnered with Forte Group to Develop and deploy a foundational version of the ATOR network that allows for an independent, secure, and functional environment for communication and development, with a specific focus on directory authority management, relay communication, and infrastructure setup.

Business challenges

ATOR is in the process of scaling its network and establishing a comprehensive ecosystem that includes hardware, tokenomics, and a range of decentralized services. Managing such a diverse and complex project requires careful coordination between different teams and resources.

Additionally, they must navigate the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies and decentralized technologies, which can often be uncertain and rapidly changing.

Product challenges

The company is working on creating a user-friendly interface that allows for seamless integration of various services within its network. Ensuring that these interfaces are intuitive and accessible to users with varying degrees of technical expertise is crucial.

Furthermore, the development of new types of traffic and specialized services built directly onto relays such as storage and compute requires ongoing innovation and testing.

Technical challenges

ATOR's network relies on complex technical components like the Proof-of-Uptime protocol, consensus weight metrics, and a network of validation servers. The technical challenge lies in ensuring that these components are secure, scalable, and can handle the anticipated growth in network traffic. Additionally, their commitment to open source and the encouragement of public audits puts a premium on maintaining high-quality, transparent code.

Solution

Deliver a decentralized, innovative, and privacy-preserving platform that will facilitate the development, access, and hosting of services on an independent network, forked from TOR, focusing on overcoming speed and complexity barriers.

To prevent censorship, Forte Group’s Team proposed the development of the ATOR Protocol as an alternative to Tor. This involved forking the existing open-source implementation of the Tor client. Leveraging Tor's mature and extensively tested features for privacy and anonymity, ATOR users stand to gain significant benefits from this initiative.
ATOR will feature an integrated ecosystem with a user-centric design, enhanced speed through innovative relay prioritization, and robust incentives for network participants, making it accessible even for those with limited technical knowledge of tor-like and cryptocurrency.
The project followed a collaborative approach beginning with discovery meetings to understand the client's needs, followed by continuous interaction through weekly refinement sessions and sprint reviews. This ensured that the client's feedback was integrated into the development process, aligning the project outcomes closely with the client's expectations.

Solution highlights

Implement a standalone ATOR Network forked from Tor which will become a new decentralized ecosystem

The Forte Team implemented and configured crucial components of the new ATOR network: Directory Authorities, Relays, Clients and Onionoo as a monitoring service. The forked version of Tor's client was named Anon, and it will be the grounding for further ecosystem development.
ATOR Network as a privacy layer for DePin projects:

To reinforce privacy and security across the ecosystem, ATOR Network was integrated into the DePin ecosystem. This involved enabling other projects to route their app traffic securely through ATOR, creating a cross-platform Anon client NPM package, and researching a Light client SDK option for streamlined integration.

3. Provide a seamless experience without needing to understand the underlying technology

Users might find setting up and maintaining ATOR software complex, especially if they're not technically inclined. This is why the Anon client setup right now is download-and-run. The Forte Team also worked on a user-friendly interface allowing users to connect to the network with specific settings.

UDP over ATOR

Implement UDP traffic routing through the ATOR Network to facilitate various applications such as VoIP, streaming, file sharing, and online gaming.

5. Decentralized directory authorities:

ATOR's initiative to decentralize directory authorities is an essential step towards achieving a truly decentralized network that is robust, and secure, and respects the privacy and anonymity of its users. It reflects a foundational element of blockchain and decentralized technology, which is to distribute control and eliminate single points of failure or control.

Results achieved

During the first stage of the project, the Forte Team:

- Delivered the fully functional ATOR network

- Created an NPM Package to enable easier integration and setup for developers working with the network.

- Conducted research on implementing UDP protocol support to enable voice/video calls over the network

Metrics on network usage, bandwidth contribution, and number of users/relays will likely only start to be meaningful once the live launch is complete and more users are utilizing the network, which will happen in the near future.