K8s-enhanced lightweight simulation method for the Tor networkOACSCD

Criminals exploit the robust anonymity afforded by Tor for illicit purposes,prompting heightened interest among researchers in de-anonymization attacks on the Tor network.The execution of experiments on de-anonymization attacks within a real Tor network presents considerable challenges,hence the necessity for a simulation environment.However,existing methods for simulating the Tor network are inadequate regarding realism,flexibility,and scalability,with some being prohibitively expensive.In this paper,we develop a lightweight and scalable Tor network simulation environment based on Kubernetes(K8s),employing Docker containers to simulate Tor relays.The results demonstrate that a network of up to a thousand Tor relays can be simulated using just four standard hosts.Furthermore,two de-anonymization attack experiments were conducted within this simulated environment,which exhibited high levels of realism and flexibility.Finally,a hybrid networking approach combining multi-granularity relays was explored to enhance further the balance between realism and cost in Tor network simulations.