Is there any security concerns with hosting a tor relay on a homelab? Like would you be significantly more likely to get hacked? I don’t plan on running an exit relay, but what would the risks/downsides of hosting a middle/starting point relay.
Depending on your jurisdiction and applicable laws, you are responsible and accountable for the traffic that goes through your internet connection. Anything happens, and the authorities will ask your ISP through whose connection was an illegal activity initiated, and they’ll point their fingers to you as contract holder. If it’s a family member or a visiting guest, you can figure out who caused the issue and confront them or show some evidences out of your own router; but if you allow any unnamed individual to use your internet connection in a way that you can never ever trace them, you’re just exposing yourself to a significant risk without any benefit. Why would you do that?
Get yourself some static IPs if you don’t have them. If you host the relay on the same IP as your regular Internet traffic then your IP will be blacklisted. Disney+ blocked my IP and I had to change my egress IP to another available IP in my range.
Your IP will be added to the list of public relays, which some organizations will blacklist all of. Your IP may also become more of a target in general if you decide to host more than a relay publicly. Your ISP may also not like it, some ISPs disallow hosting on residential plans and may decide to enforce it when there’s significant traffic.
Network chuck just released a video on this the other day on YouTube it was very informative and worth a watch.