Hi! I wanted to share my favorite women tech activists to follow on Twitter.
These women all work to keep the internet open and our online communications private and secure while inspiring us with their wit and conviction.
To be honest, this could be a very, very long list. If you have other favorite women tech activists, please let us know in the comments!
Yan Zhu @bcrypt
With the name of a password hashing function as her handle, it’s immediately clear where Yan’s interests lie. Yan is a widely accomplished engineer probably best known for her software privacy projects endorsed by the EFF, such as Privacy Badger and HTTPS Everywhere.
Jessy Irwin @jessysaurusrex
Jessy is a security researcher and evangelist who makes security issues easy for everyone to understand. Jessy’s pretty much a genius at using funny emoji and ASCII art to encourage people to up their infosec game. You can hear her speak at conferences and universities all around the world.
Yael Grauer @yaelwrites
Yael is a tech journalist who writes about technology, privacy issues, and everything else we care about (like the TV show Mr. Robot). You can find Yael’s well-researched articles on Motherboard, Forbes, and Ars Technica, as well as on her personal blog.
Sarah Jamie Lewis @SarahJamieLewis
Sarah is working hard on her project OnionScan, which measures the size and extent of the dark web and its vulnerabilities. In a short time, she has achieved a lot for anonymity and has pioneered the field of Dark Web Research.
Chelsea Manning @xychelsea
Chelsea provided a treasure trove of U.S. diplomatic and military documents to the public through Wikileaks. The files exposed corruption, crimes against humanity, and lies— most of which are still unanswered for. Chelsea was sentenced to 35 years in prison, where she was tortured and kept under inhumane conditions, though is set to be released early, on May 17 of this year.
Alexandra Elbakyan @ringo_ring
Originally from Kazakhstan, Alexandra angered some of the world’s most powerful publishers when she collected a trove of scientific research from behind paywalls and liberated them through her own project, Sci Hub. Alexandra is currently hiding in Russia, fearing an extradition to the United States.
isis agora lovecruft @isislovecruft
Isis is one of the leading figures behind the Tor Project and has also worked for Open Whisper Systems, the company behind encrypted messaging app, Signal. Last year Isis made headlines when she spoke out against FBI harassment.
Eva Galperin @evacide
Eva was recently appointed a director of cybersecurity at the EFF and also acts as technical advisor to the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Galperin researches malware and writes guides on information security for human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and bloggers—like this useful Digital First Aid Kit.
Julie Borowski @JulieBorowski
Julie is most prominent as a YouTube personality and political activist, where she comments on current political affairs in the U.S., often with a focus on privacy and technology. A self-described capitalist with a flair for liberty-related issues, Julie has been a principled voice for privacy within the U.S. political sphere since 2012.
Which women in privacy do you look up to?
ExpressVPN and I would like to say a big thank you to the remarkable women on this list.
Did I leave anyone out? Please share your favorite women tech activists in the comments below!