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Tor Project installs new board of directors after Jacob Appelbaum controversy

Tor Project installs new board of directors after Jacob Appelbaum controversy

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The Tor Project today announced that it has elected an entirely new board of directors, as the nonprofit privacy organization continues seeing the fallout from accusations of sexual misconduct by prominent former employee Jacob Appelbaum.

Board agreed to step down after the controversy

In June, Appelbaum left the nonprofit, best known for its Tor privacy browser, after the organization said it had received multiple accusations against him. "We are committed to doing better in the future," Tor executive director Shari Steele wrote in a statement at the time. (Appelbaum has denied the accusations.)

In a statement today, the seven outgoing board members say it is their "duty to ensure that the Tor Project has the best possible leadership." The statement does not mention Appelbaum, although The New York Times reports that the board agreed to step down following the controversy.

The outgoing board members include Tor Project co-founders Roger Dingledine and Nick Mathewson, who will continue to work on the organization's technical research and development team, according to the statement. The new board members include several prominent cryptographers and scholars, including University of Pennsylvania professor Matt Blaze, Electronic Frontier Foundation Executive Director Cindy Cohn, and security technologist Bruce Schneier.

"I think this was an incredibly brave and selfless thing for the board to do," Steele writes. "They're making a clear statement that they want the organization to become its best self."