Johan Helsingius
Encyclopedia
Johan "Julf" Helsingius, born in 1961 in Helsinki
, Finland
, started and ran the Anon.penet.fi
internet
remailer.
Anon.penet.fi was one of the most popular Internet remailers, handling 10,000 messages a day. The server
was the first of its kind to use a password-protected PO box system for sending and receiving e-mails. In the eighties he was the system administrator
for the central Finnish news
node as well as one of the founding members of the Finnish UNIX User Group.
In February 1995, the Church of Scientology
called in Interpol
and Finnish prosecutors in order to find out user an144108's real identity, an online critic of Scientology
. Pressured by possible police measures which would have meant disclosing not one but all of the registered names in the database, Julf revealed the identity of the person Scientology was looking for. One year later, on August 30 1996, he announced his remailer would shut down.
The American Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF), an Internet civil rights
initiative, reported continuously on the incidents concerning anon.penet.fi. The EFF collected donations to cover legal costs should Helsingius be involved in a court case to settle whether Finnish law could force him to reveal the identity of anon.penet.fi users.
The closing down of anon.penet.fi led to an outbreak of outrage and solidarity with Helsingius throughout the Internet in order to protect freedom on the Internet.
Helsingius went on to help found EUnet
in Finland and was part of the team of people that established the first Internet link to a Soviet country. Later, when EUnet was acquired by Qwest Communications and soon after moved into KPNQwest
, Qwest's joint venture with KPN
International, Julf became Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for KPNQwest
. He is now an Internet entrepreneur
and is serving on the board of various companies (e.g. BaseN
, which is based in Finland
). Helsingius lives in Amsterdam
, the Netherlands
.
Helsingius has studied music and traveled widely. His interests include active sports, like mountain climbing, and aviation.
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, started and ran the Anon.penet.fi
Penet remailer
The Penet remailer was a pseudonymous remailer operated by Johan "Julf" Helsingius of Finland from 1993 to 1996. Its initial creation stemmed from an argument in a Finnish newsgroup over whether people should be required to tie their real name to their online communications...
internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
remailer.
Anon.penet.fi was one of the most popular Internet remailers, handling 10,000 messages a day. The server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
was the first of its kind to use a password-protected PO box system for sending and receiving e-mails. In the eighties he was the system administrator
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
for the central Finnish news
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
node as well as one of the founding members of the Finnish UNIX User Group.
In February 1995, the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
called in Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and Finnish prosecutors in order to find out user an144108's real identity, an online critic of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
. Pressured by possible police measures which would have meant disclosing not one but all of the registered names in the database, Julf revealed the identity of the person Scientology was looking for. One year later, on August 30 1996, he announced his remailer would shut down.
The American Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
(EFF), an Internet civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
initiative, reported continuously on the incidents concerning anon.penet.fi. The EFF collected donations to cover legal costs should Helsingius be involved in a court case to settle whether Finnish law could force him to reveal the identity of anon.penet.fi users.
The closing down of anon.penet.fi led to an outbreak of outrage and solidarity with Helsingius throughout the Internet in order to protect freedom on the Internet.
Helsingius went on to help found EUnet
EUnet
The roots of EUnet go back to 1982 and the first international UUCP connections. From a very loose collaboration of individual sites under the auspices of the EUUG , it evolved to the fully commercial entity EUnet International Ltd.In April 1998 the company was sold to Qwest Communications...
in Finland and was part of the team of people that established the first Internet link to a Soviet country. Later, when EUnet was acquired by Qwest Communications and soon after moved into KPNQwest
KPNQwest
KPNQwest was a telecommunications company equally owned by the Dutch national telecom operator KPN and Qwest Communications International Inc., the Internet communications company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado....
, Qwest's joint venture with KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
International, Julf became Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for KPNQwest
KPNQwest
KPNQwest was a telecommunications company equally owned by the Dutch national telecom operator KPN and Qwest Communications International Inc., the Internet communications company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado....
. He is now an Internet entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and is serving on the board of various companies (e.g. BaseN
BaseN
BaseN is an international technology company, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland and operating around the globe, dedicated to large scale infrastructure monitoring and management. The company focuses on next-generation computing grid technology and operates by using Software as a Service, SaaS...
, which is based in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
). Helsingius lives in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Helsingius has studied music and traveled widely. His interests include active sports, like mountain climbing, and aviation.