History
The evolution of privacy technology
Digital Privacy Timeline
Public Key Cryptography
Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman publish "New Directions in Cryptography," introducing public key cryptography.
RSA Algorithm
Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman create RSA, the first widely-used public key cryptosystem.
PGP Released
Phil Zimmermann releases Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), making strong encryption available to the public.
Onion Routing Invented
US Naval Research Laboratory develops the concept of onion routing for anonymous communication.
Freenet Launched
Ian Clarke creates Freenet, the first distributed, censorship-resistant data storage network.
Tor Project Founded
The Tor Project is officially launched, open-sourcing the onion routing technology.
I2P Development Begins
The Invisible Internet Project begins development as an alternative to Tor.
Bitcoin Created
Satoshi Nakamoto releases Bitcoin, introducing cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Silk Road Opens
The first major darknet marketplace launches, demonstrating Tor's capabilities for e-commerce.
Snowden Revelations
Edward Snowden exposes NSA mass surveillance programs, sparking global privacy awareness.
Signal Protocol
Open Whisper Systems releases the Signal Protocol, setting new standards for secure messaging.
Monero Launched
Monero launches with ring signatures, becoming the first major privacy-by-default cryptocurrency.
WhatsApp E2EE
WhatsApp enables end-to-end encryption for over a billion users using the Signal Protocol.
Tor Onion Services v3
Tor introduces next-generation onion services with improved cryptography and security.
WireGuard in Linux Kernel
WireGuard VPN protocol is merged into the Linux kernel, becoming a standard.