Data haven

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A data haven is a computer or a network that holds data protected from government action by both technical means (encryption) and location in a country that has either no laws, or poorly-enforced laws restricting use of data and no extradition treaties. HavenCo (centralized) and Freenet (decentralized) are two models of modern-day data havens.

Purposes of data havens

Reasons for establishing data havens include access to free political speech for users in countries where censorship of the Internet is practiced.

Other reasons can include:

• Whistleblowing.
• Distributing software, data or speech that violates laws such as the DMCA.
• Copyright infringement.
• Circumventing data protection laws.
• Online gambling.
• Pornography.

While some advocates of data havens say that they should not be used to facilitate spam, terrorism or child pornography, others seek data havens for these very purposes.

Origin of the term

This term was coined by Bruce Sterling in his 1988 novel Islands in the Net. The "modern-day" segments of Neal Stephenson's 1999 novel Cryptonomicon concern a small group of entrepreneurs attempting to create a data haven.

See also

Cryptography portal

Computer security portal

Internet portal

• Anonymity
• Anonymous P2P
• Pseudonymity
• Corporate haven
• Crypto-anarchism
• Crypto-society
• Sealand located in international waters in the North Sea
• CyberBunker located on NATO ground in the Netherlands
• IPREDator located in Sweden

External links

• datahaven.net peer-to-peer backup software and service. "The idea is that you donate extra disk space from your computer and in exchange you get to use extra disk space on a number of other computers to backup your computer." Note that DataHaven is also managing the Anguilla DNS.