Shari Steele on online anonymity: Tor staff are 'freedom fighters'

Non-profit's new boss says replacing government funding is a priority which will ensure its survival and restore credibility

At a secret location on New Year's Eve 2015, a core team of Tor Project employees mingled with the Berlin cypherpunk underground. One person was missing: their new executive director, Shari Steele, who had been introduced publicly a few days earlier to much fanfare at the world's oldest gathering of hackers: the annual Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg.

Steele says it's accurate to describe her as avoiding the spotlight. "That is the way I work, and how I will continue to work at Tor," Steele told the Guardian. Former co-workers confirmed: she likes to work behind the scenes, and is extremely effective doing so.