Still, if anyone is up to the challenge, Steele seems like an excellent choice.Īs Dingledine noted in his blog post announcing the hire, Steele has been a long-time supporter of Tor, having led EFF’s choice to fund Tor. In our trustworthy browser poll back in October 2015, only 6% said Tor was the browser they trust the most, which suggests that the Tor Project has a steep hill to climb to get to mainstream acceptance and adoption. In a post on the Tor Project blog, Steele said that her mission is to grow the organization by fostering “greater adoption of Tor products by mainstream internet users.”ĭespite the rapid growth of people using Tor in the wake of revelations of NSA surveillance by leaker Edward Snowden, it is far from “mainstream.” One of Steele’s biggest challenges is changing the perception of Tor, which has become something of a safe haven for criminals, terrorists and child abusers.Īlthough it’s inevitable that Tor will be used to conceal illegal activities, it’s also a useful tool for protecting people who need anonymity to do dangerous but beneficial work, like whistleblowers, journalists and human rights activists. The Tor network uses layers of encryption to shield your location and the location of any hidden services you use.Īlthough it was originally developed by the US Navy, and is largely funded by the US government, the Tor network has come under attack by law enforcement and intelligence agencies including the FBI and the NSA. The Tor Project, founded by Roger Dingledine and Nick Matthewson in 2006, develops and maintains free software and tools that support anonymous communications on the Dark Web. In her new role, Steele will be the main voice and face of the Tor Project, tasked with raising its profile, securing new sources of funding, and expanding the use of its anonymity software and tools to the broader public.
Steele spent 15 years at EFF, including the last eight as its executive director, helping to grow the organization into one of the world’s foremost privacy advocates. After a many-months-long search for a new executive director, the Tor Project announced last week that it has hired Shari Steele, former head of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), to lead the organization.
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