HavenCo
Encyclopedia
HavenCo Limited was a data haven
, data hosting services company, founded in 2000 which operated from Sealand
, self-declared 'sovereign principality' that occupies a man-made former World War II defensive facility originally known as Roughs Tower
located approximately six miles from the coast of Suffolk
, southeast England.
In November 2008, operations of HavenCo ceased without explanation.
(who is also known as Prince Michael of Sealand), bought a dormant British company which was renamed HavenCo Limited. It was given the registration number of 04056934 by Companies House
, an executive agency of the UK Department of Trade and Industry. The registered office of HavenCo Limited was recorded at 11 Kintyre House, Cold Harbour, London, E14 9NL England. The directors were listed as Michael Roy Bates, a citizen of the United Kingdom, who was named Chief Operating Officer, and Ryan Donald Lackey
, a US citizen. Other founders included Sean Hastings
, Jo Hastings, Avi Freedman, and Sameer Parekh
was an advisor to the company. The company later relocated its registration to Cyprus
.
HavenCo initially received broad coverage in the international media, appearing on the cover of Wired Magazine, in over 200 press articles, and in several television reports. In these reports, HavenCo claimed to have established a secure colocation
facility on Sealand, and that it had commenced operations as a data haven
. Detractors claim that these reports gave the impression that HavenCo was registered on Sealand itself, and that the company would issue domain names under the authority of that entity, when in fact it had no entitlement to do so.
prohibited child pornography
, spamming, and malicious hacking
- but that all other content was acceptable. It claimed that it had no restrictions on copyright
or intellectual property
for data hosted on its server
s, arguing that as Sealand was not a member of the World Trade Organization
or WIPO, international intellectual property law did not apply. Other services available from HavenCo at the time included IT consulting, systems administration, offshore software development, and electronic mail services. Later policies specified, "No pornography that would be considered illegal within the EU," and "No infringement of copyright."
Following the 9/11
terrorist attacks, HavenCo announced that the operation would block initiatives "contrary to international custom and practice."
Ryan Lackey
left HavenCo under acrimonious circumstances in 2002, citing disagreements with the Bates family over management of the company. HavenCo itself was still in operation in 2008, but the extent of its business was unknown. Lackey claims that HavenCo owes him $220,000 of un-reimbursed expenses that went towards, among other things, paying other people's salaries.
HavenCo resembled Neal Stephenson
's fictional data haven
in the novel Cryptonomicon
, and various details match up as well — a founder named Avi, location on an island, affiliation with cypherpunk
s, use of cryptography
, etc. However, HavenCo was already in operation before the book was in wide circulation, and the concept of a data haven is a far older idea. The use of small islands as tax haven
s and flags of convenience
is perhaps a hundred years old, and data havens claim to be an extension of that same theme.
Data haven
A data haven, like a corporate haven or tax haven, is a refuge for uninterrupted or unregulated data. Data havens are locations with legal environments that are friendly to the concept of a computer network freely holding data and even protecting its content and associated information...
, data hosting services company, founded in 2000 which operated from Sealand
Principality of Sealand
The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognized entity, located on HM Fort Roughs, a former World War II Maunsell Sea Fort in the North Sea 10 km off the coast of Suffolk, England, United Kingdom ....
, self-declared 'sovereign principality' that occupies a man-made former World War II defensive facility originally known as Roughs Tower
HM Fort Roughs
HM Fort Roughs was one of several World War II installations, that were designed by Guy Maunsell and known collectively as His Majesty's Forts or as Maunsell Sea Forts, and its purpose was to guard the port of Harwich, Essex...
located approximately six miles from the coast of Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, southeast England.
In November 2008, operations of HavenCo ceased without explanation.
Founding
On August 22, 2000, Michael Bates of Leigh-on-sea, EssexEssex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(who is also known as Prince Michael of Sealand), bought a dormant British company which was renamed HavenCo Limited. It was given the registration number of 04056934 by Companies House
Companies House
Companies House is the United Kingdom Registrar of Companies and is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills . All forms of companies are incorporated and registered with Companies House and file specific details as required by the...
, an executive agency of the UK Department of Trade and Industry. The registered office of HavenCo Limited was recorded at 11 Kintyre House, Cold Harbour, London, E14 9NL England. The directors were listed as Michael Roy Bates, a citizen of the United Kingdom, who was named Chief Operating Officer, and Ryan Donald Lackey
Ryan Lackey
Ryan Donald Lackey is an entrepreneur and computer security professional. He was a co-founder of HavenCo, the world's first data haven...
, a US citizen. Other founders included Sean Hastings
Sean Hastings
Sean Hastings is an entrepreneur, cypherpunk author, and security expert. He is best known for being the founding CEO of HavenCo, the world's first formal data haven.- Work :In 1997, Hastings worked on cryptographic protocols and tools free of U.S...
, Jo Hastings, Avi Freedman, and Sameer Parekh
Sameer Parekh
Sameer Parekh is best known for being the founder of C2Net Software, Inc.While in high school in Libertyville, Illinois, he published an underground newspaper called The Free Journal, promoting free speech and other libertarian ideas....
was an advisor to the company. The company later relocated its registration to Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
HavenCo initially received broad coverage in the international media, appearing on the cover of Wired Magazine, in over 200 press articles, and in several television reports. In these reports, HavenCo claimed to have established a secure colocation
Colocation
Colocation is the act of placing multiple entities within a single location.Colocation is often used in the data sourcing industry to mean off-site data storage, usually in a data center. This is very important for businesses since the loss of data can be crucial for companies of any size...
facility on Sealand, and that it had commenced operations as a data haven
Data haven
A data haven, like a corporate haven or tax haven, is a refuge for uninterrupted or unregulated data. Data havens are locations with legal environments that are friendly to the concept of a computer network freely holding data and even protecting its content and associated information...
. Detractors claim that these reports gave the impression that HavenCo was registered on Sealand itself, and that the company would issue domain names under the authority of that entity, when in fact it had no entitlement to do so.
Services
The company announced that it had become operational in December 2000 and that its Acceptable Use PolicyAcceptable use policy
An acceptable use policy is a set of rules applied by the owner/manager of a network, website or large computer system that restrict the ways in which the network site or system may be used...
prohibited child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
, spamming, and malicious hacking
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
- but that all other content was acceptable. It claimed that it had no restrictions on copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
or intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
for data hosted on its 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"...
s, arguing that as Sealand was not a member of the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
or WIPO, international intellectual property law did not apply. Other services available from HavenCo at the time included IT consulting, systems administration, offshore software development, and electronic mail services. Later policies specified, "No pornography that would be considered illegal within the EU," and "No infringement of copyright."
Following the 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
terrorist attacks, HavenCo announced that the operation would block initiatives "contrary to international custom and practice."
Ryan Lackey
Ryan Lackey
Ryan Donald Lackey is an entrepreneur and computer security professional. He was a co-founder of HavenCo, the world's first data haven...
left HavenCo under acrimonious circumstances in 2002, citing disagreements with the Bates family over management of the company. HavenCo itself was still in operation in 2008, but the extent of its business was unknown. Lackey claims that HavenCo owes him $220,000 of un-reimbursed expenses that went towards, among other things, paying other people's salaries.
HavenCo resembled Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson
Neal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
's fictional data haven
Data haven
A data haven, like a corporate haven or tax haven, is a refuge for uninterrupted or unregulated data. Data havens are locations with legal environments that are friendly to the concept of a computer network freely holding data and even protecting its content and associated information...
in the novel Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon
Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The novel follows the exploits of two groups of people in two different time periods, presented in alternating chapters...
, and various details match up as well — a founder named Avi, location on an island, affiliation with cypherpunk
Cypherpunk
A cypherpunk is an activist advocating widespread use of strong cryptography as a route to social and political change.Originally communicating through the Cypherpunks electronic mailing list, informal groups aimed to achieve privacy and security through proactive use of cryptography...
s, use of cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, etc. However, HavenCo was already in operation before the book was in wide circulation, and the concept of a data haven is a far older idea. The use of small islands as tax haven
Tax haven
A tax haven is a state or a country or territory where certain taxes are levied at a low rate or not at all while offering due process, good governance and a low corruption rate....
s and flags of convenience
Flag of convenience
The term flag of convenience describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships are registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or avoid the...
is perhaps a hundred years old, and data havens claim to be an extension of that same theme.
External links
- "Welcome to Sealand. Now Bugger Off." - A Wired.comWired NewsWired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
article written by Simson GarfinkelSimson GarfinkelSimson L. Garfinkel is an Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Garfinkel is regarded as a leader in the fields of Digital forensics and Usable Security... - "Has 'haven' for questionable sites sunk?" - A News.com article from August 4, 2003
- Havenco Slashdot Article
- Video - From the Daily Show with Jon StewartJon StewartJon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
- Video - From 2009 SeasteadingSeasteadingSeasteading is the concept of creating permanent dwellings at sea, called seasteads, outside the territories claimed by the governments of any standing nation....
conference - HavenCo Founding CEO Sean HastingsSean HastingsSean Hastings is an entrepreneur, cypherpunk author, and security expert. He is best known for being the founding CEO of HavenCo, the world's first formal data haven.- Work :In 1997, Hastings worked on cryptographic protocols and tools free of U.S...
speaks about Sealand, Havenco, and living on an extra-national sea platform.