Sameer Parekh
Encyclopedia
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.
In 1993 Parekh moved to Berkeley, California
, to attend the University of California, Berkeley
, and joined the cypherpunks. In his second year at Cal, he started C2Net
, a privacy-oriented ISP which provided anonymous accounts and an anonymous remailer
, and was the first home of the Anonymizer
web surfing proxy.
Through the mid- to late 1990s, Parekh was a frequently-cited critic of U.S. policy on encryption software. The cover story for the September 1997 issue of Forbes
focused on his views of the political and social impact of cryptography. Through C2Net, Parekh pioneered the offshore development of cryptography by U.S. companies to avoid U.S. regulation, and later helped organize the first global conference on financial cryptography
in Anguilla. He was also an advisor to and the chairman of HavenCo
, a company that attempted to create a data haven in the Principality of Sealand
.
After selling C2Net
to Red Hat
, Parekh traveled around Central and Eastern Europe in 2001 on a DJ tour. He played in countries such as Poland
, Serbia
, Croatia
, Latvia
. He also produced a number of "renegade" events in the Port of Oakland.
Parekh was a 2007 Lincoln Fellow of the Claremont Institute.
In 2007, Parekh attended Marine Officer Candidate School, but was sent home three weeks from completion due to a stress fracture. Parekh is now studying Mathematics in Finance
at the Courant Institute at New York University
.
C2Net
C2Net was an Internet cryptography company founded by Sameer Parekh, which was sold to Red Hat in 2000. It was best known for its Stronghold secure webserver software....
Software, Inc.
While in high school in Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville is an affluent northern suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan on the Des Plaines River. The 2000 census population was 20,742; the 2005 estimate was 21,760...
, he published an underground newspaper called The Free Journal, promoting free speech and other libertarian ideas.
In 1993 Parekh moved to Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, to attend the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and joined the cypherpunks. In his second year at Cal, he started C2Net
C2Net
C2Net was an Internet cryptography company founded by Sameer Parekh, which was sold to Red Hat in 2000. It was best known for its Stronghold secure webserver software....
, a privacy-oriented ISP which provided anonymous accounts and an anonymous remailer
Anonymous remailer
An anonymous remailer is a server computer which receives messages with embedded instructions on where to send them next, and which forwards them without revealing where they originally came from...
, and was the first home of the Anonymizer
Anonymizer
An anonymizer or an anonymous proxy is a tool that attempts to make activity on the Internet untraceable.It is a proxy server computer that acts as an intermediary and privacy shield between a client computer and the rest of the Internet...
web surfing proxy.
Through the mid- to late 1990s, Parekh was a frequently-cited critic of U.S. policy on encryption software. The cover story for the September 1997 issue of Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
focused on his views of the political and social impact of cryptography. Through C2Net, Parekh pioneered the offshore development of cryptography by U.S. companies to avoid U.S. regulation, and later helped organize the first global conference on financial cryptography
Financial cryptography
Financial cryptography is the use of cryptography in applications in which financial loss could result from subversion of the message system.Cryptographers think of the field as originating in the work of Dr David Chaum who invented the blinded signature...
in Anguilla. He was also an advisor to and the chairman of HavenCo
HavenCo
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...
, a company that attempted to create a data haven in the Principality of 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 ....
.
After selling C2Net
C2Net
C2Net was an Internet cryptography company founded by Sameer Parekh, which was sold to Red Hat in 2000. It was best known for its Stronghold secure webserver software....
to Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, Parekh traveled around Central and Eastern Europe in 2001 on a DJ tour. He played in countries such as Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. He also produced a number of "renegade" events in the Port of Oakland.
Parekh was a 2007 Lincoln Fellow of the Claremont Institute.
In 2007, Parekh attended Marine Officer Candidate School, but was sent home three weeks from completion due to a stress fracture. Parekh is now studying Mathematics in Finance
Mathematical finance
Mathematical finance is a field of applied mathematics, concerned with financial markets. The subject has a close relationship with the discipline of financial economics, which is concerned with much of the underlying theory. Generally, mathematical finance will derive and extend the mathematical...
at the Courant Institute at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.