Draft:The Architect (pseudonym)

The Architect is a title and pseudonym used by the systems architects for leaking groups like WikiLeaks, OpenLeaks and Distributed Denial of Secrets.

WikiLeaks
The WikiLeaks dropbox architecture was rebuilt by a WikiLeaks programmer known to most insiders as "The Architect". He also instructed another WikiLeaks technician, and some of his colleagues thought he was a computer genius. According to Andy Greenberg, insiders told him "when The Architect joined WikiLeaks it was a mess. It was two creaking servers without all the flashy security that Assange had promised in interviews with the media. The Architect rebuilt it from scratch." According to Wired, The Architect separated the sensitive components like the submission and e-mail archives from the public-facing Wiki and set up servers in various countries.

During the 2010 reorganisation, The Architect left with Domscheit-Berg, taking the code behind the submission system with him. The Architect and Domscheit-Berg encrypted the files and gave them to a third party who did not have the key. WikiLeaks submissions stayed offline for four and a half years, until May 2015.

OpenLeaks
On December 17, 2010, Domscheit-Berg announced the intention to start a site named OpenLeaks with the intention of being more transparent than WikiLeaks. Several other members of WikiLeaks left with Domscheit-Berg to join OpenLeaks, The Architect.

Distributed Denial of Secrets
Distributed Denial of Secrets was founded by Emma Best, an American national security reporter known for filing prolific freedom of information requests, and an anonymous partner known as The Architect. According to Best, The Architect, who they already knew, expressed their desire to see a new platform for leaked and hacked materials, along with other relevant datasets. The Architect provided the initial technical expertise for the project.

Best said they know who “The Architect” was for Distributed Denial of Secrets, but not if it’s the same person who left Wikileaks in 2010. Best said she knows “people would like that narrative" but that she didn't ask because she didn't need to know.