The twisted exploits of a Massachusetts' cyberstalker have ended, but his failed attempts at anonymity show that it's nearly impossible to traverse the web as a nameless, incognito figure.
On Oct. 6, the U.S. Department of Justice announced(opens in a new tab) that it arrested Ryan Lin, 24, for directing a lengthy cyberstalking campaign against his former roommate, her family, and friends. Court documents reveal(opens in a new tab) that Lin attempted to shroud himself in secrecy, using a Virtual Private Network (or VPN) and anonymous texting services to stay untraceable. Lin's vigilant efforts, however, failed.
“Those who think they can use the Internet to terrorize people and hide behind the anonymity of the net and outwit law enforcement should think again,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco, in a statement(opens in a new tab).
Lin, a computer science graduate, employed his web-savvy to abuse and harass his former roommate, Jennifer Smith, from afar. The list of depraved crimes are extensive. For instance, Lin snuck into Smith's room (while they were roommates) and accessed her diary, which she stored in Google Drive. Lin later sent Smith's sexual, psychological, and medical history to hundreds of people, including her parents, co-workers, and 13-year old sister.
“Those who think they can use the Internet to terrorize people and hide behind the anonymity of the net and outwit law enforcement should think again.”
Lin employed a host of anonymizing tactics to wipe his tracks when terrorizing and defaming Smith. Lin hid his location by using the Tor(opens in a new tab) web browser (a free software which "bounces your communications around a distributed network of relays") and VPNs, anonymizing services that allow you to access the internet from a location far from your actual home — perhaps across the world.
But the feds eventually sleuthed Lin out, in part because many VPNs are not truly anonymous.
After getting hold Lin's old work computer (Lin was fired from a software company), investigators found that the VPN program PureVPN had been used on the computer. Federal agents then contacted PureVPN, which provided "records" of Lin's activity. Specifically, the records showed that Lin used PureVPN to access an e-mail account he used to harass Smith from two locations: his home and work addresses.
Lin may have been duped by PureVPN advertising, which clearly states on its homepage(opens in a new tab) that there are "NO logs of your activities."
Everything today, however, seems to be logged, making anonymity a nearly impossible feat. Tinder keeps logs of your conversations, Google can read your e-mail, and anonymizing web companies lie about their tactics.
This might be unsettling for anyone with privacy concerns. But it's bad news for sick cyberstalkers.
