<s>
The	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
(	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
pseudonymous	B-Protocol
remailer	I-Protocol
operated	O
by	O
Johan	O
"	O
Julf	B-Application
"	O
Helsingius	O
of	O
Finland	O
from	O
1993	O
to	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
initial	O
creation	O
stemmed	O
from	O
an	O
argument	O
in	O
a	O
Finnish	O
newsgroup	B-Application
over	O
whether	O
people	O
should	O
be	O
required	O
to	O
tie	O
their	O
real	O
name	O
to	O
their	O
online	O
communications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Julf	B-Application
believed	O
that	O
people	O
should	O
notindeed	O
,	O
could	O
notbe	O
required	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Julf	B-Application
's	O
remailer	B-Application
worked	O
by	O
receiving	O
an	O
e-mail	O
from	O
a	O
person	O
,	O
stripping	O
away	O
all	O
the	O
technical	O
information	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
identify	O
the	O
original	O
source	O
of	O
the	O
e-mail	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
remailing	O
the	O
message	O
to	O
its	O
final	O
destination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
result	O
provided	O
Internet	O
users	O
with	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
send	O
e-mail	O
messages	O
and	O
post	O
to	O
Usenet	B-Application
newsgroups	I-Application
without	O
revealing	O
their	O
identities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
used	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
“	O
post	O
office	O
box	O
”	O
system	O
in	O
which	O
users	O
could	O
claim	O
their	O
own	O
anonymous	O
e-mail	O
addresses	O
of	O
the	O
form	O
anxxxxx@anon.penet.fi	O
,	O
allowing	O
them	O
to	O
assign	O
pseudonymous	O
identities	O
to	O
their	O
anonymous	O
messages	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
receive	O
messages	O
sent	O
to	O
their	O
(	O
anonymous	O
)	O
e-mail	O
addresses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
basic	O
concept	O
was	O
effective	O
,	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
had	O
several	O
vulnerabilities	O
which	O
threatened	O
the	O
anonymity	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
was	O
on	O
two	O
occasions	O
required	O
by	O
the	O
legal	O
system	O
in	O
Finland	O
(	O
the	O
country	O
where	O
the	O
Penet	O
server	O
hardware	O
resided	O
)	O
to	O
turn	O
over	O
the	O
real	O
e-mail	O
address	O
that	O
was	O
mapped	O
to	O
an	O
anonymous	O
e-mail	O
address	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
potential	O
vulnerability	O
was	O
that	O
messages	O
sent	O
to	O
and	O
from	O
the	O
remailer	B-Application
were	O
all	O
sent	O
in	O
cleartext	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
vulnerable	O
to	O
electronic	O
eavesdropping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
anonymous	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
designs	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Cypherpunk	B-Protocol
and	O
Mixmaster	B-Protocol
designs	O
,	O
adopted	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
techniques	O
to	O
try	O
and	O
overcome	O
these	O
vulnerabilities	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
encryption	O
to	O
prevent	O
eavesdropping	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
the	O
technique	O
known	O
as	O
onion	B-Protocol
routing	I-Protocol
to	O
allow	O
the	O
existence	O
of	O
pseudonymous	B-Protocol
remailers	I-Protocol
in	O
which	O
no	O
record	O
of	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
real	O
e-mail	O
address	O
is	O
stored	O
by	O
the	O
remailer	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
relatively	O
weak	O
security	O
,	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
was	O
a	O
hugely	O
popular	O
remailer	B-Application
owing	O
to	O
its	O
ease	O
of	O
anonymous	O
account	O
set-up	O
and	O
use	O
compared	O
to	O
more	O
secure	O
but	O
less	O
user-friendly	O
remailers	B-Application
,	O
and	O
had	O
over	O
700,000	O
registered	O
users	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
shutdown	O
in	O
September	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1994	O
,	O
word	O
spread	O
online	O
of	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
being	O
compromised	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
announcement	O
being	O
made	O
at	O
the	O
hacker	O
convention	O
DEF	O
CON	O
II	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
official	O
announcement	O
was	O
made	O
at	O
this	O
year	O
's	O
DC	O
that	O
anon.penet.fi	B-Application
has	O
been	O
seriously	O
compromised	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
strongly	O
suggest	O
that	O
you	O
not	O
trust	O
this	O
anonymous	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Word	O
has	O
it	O
that	O
some	O
folks	O
are	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
PGP-based	O
service	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Last	O
year	O
she	O
organized	O
a	O
round	O
table	O
discussion	O
with	O
Phil	O
Zimmermann	O
and	O
Presence	O
,	O
and	O
revealed	O
that	O
the	O
Anonymous	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
anon.penet.fi	B-Application
was	O
compromised	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
reported	O
compromise	O
of	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
occurred	O
in	O
February	O
1995	O
at	O
the	O
behest	O
of	O
the	O
Church	O
of	O
Scientology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Claiming	O
that	O
a	O
file	O
had	O
been	O
stolen	O
from	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
Church	O
's	O
internal	O
computer	O
servers	O
and	O
posted	O
to	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
alt.religion.scientology	B-Application
by	O
a	O
Penet	O
user	O
,	O
representatives	O
of	O
the	O
Church	O
contacted	O
Interpol	B-Device
,	O
who	O
in	O
turn	O
contacted	O
the	O
Finnish	O
police	O
,	O
who	O
issued	O
a	O
search	O
warrant	O
demanding	O
that	O
Julf	B-Application
hand	O
over	O
data	O
on	O
the	O
users	O
of	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
Julf	B-Application
was	O
asked	O
to	O
turn	O
over	O
the	O
identities	O
of	O
all	O
users	O
of	O
his	O
remailer	B-Application
(	O
which	O
numbered	O
200,000	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
he	O
managed	O
a	O
compromise	O
and	O
revealed	O
only	O
the	O
single	O
user	O
being	O
sought	O
by	O
the	O
Church	O
of	O
Scientology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
document	O
he	O
posted	O
was	O
an	O
internal	O
report	O
by	O
a	O
Scientology	O
private	O
investigator	O
,	O
Gene	O
Ingram	O
,	O
about	O
an	O
incident	O
that	O
had	O
occurred	O
involving	O
a	O
man	O
named	O
Tom	O
Klemesrud	O
,	O
a	O
BBS	O
operator	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
Scientology	B-Application
versus	I-Application
the	I-Application
Internet	I-Application
controversy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Years	O
later	O
in	O
2003	O
,	O
a	O
two-part	O
story	O
entitled	O
"	O
What	O
Really	O
Happened	O
in	O
INCOMM	O
-	O
Part	O
1	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
What	O
Really	O
Happened	O
in	O
INCOMM	O
–	O
Part	O
2	O
"	O
was	O
posted	O
to	O
alt.religion.scientology	B-Application
by	O
a	O
former	O
Scientologist	O
named	O
Dan	O
Garvin	O
,	O
which	O
described	O
events	O
within	O
the	O
Church	O
leading	O
up	O
to	O
and	O
stemming	O
from	O
the	O
Penet	O
posting	O
by	O
"	O
-AB-	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Julf	B-Application
was	O
also	O
contacted	O
by	O
the	O
government	O
of	O
Singapore	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
effort	O
to	O
discover	O
who	O
was	O
posting	O
messages	O
critical	O
of	O
the	O
nation	O
's	O
government	O
in	O
the	O
newsgroup	B-Application
soc.culture.singapore	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
Finnish	O
law	O
did	O
not	O
recognise	O
any	O
crime	O
being	O
committed	O
,	O
Julf	B-Application
was	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
reveal	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
1996	O
,	O
a	O
British	O
newspaper	O
,	O
The	O
Observer	O
,	O
published	O
an	O
article	O
describing	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
as	O
a	O
major	O
hub	O
of	O
child	O
pornography	O
,	O
quoting	O
a	O
United	O
States	O
FBI	O
investigator	O
named	O
Toby	O
Tyler	O
as	O
saying	O
that	O
Penet	O
was	O
responsible	O
for	O
between	O
75%	O
and	O
90%	O
of	O
the	O
child	O
pornography	O
being	O
distributed	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tyler	O
also	O
claimed	O
that	O
the	O
Observer	O
purposely	O
misquoted	O
him	O
,	O
and	O
he	O
had	O
actually	O
said	O
that	O
most	O
child	O
pornography	O
posted	O
to	O
newsgroups	B-Application
does	O
not	O
go	O
through	O
remailers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Julf	B-Application
claimed	O
that	O
he	O
explained	O
to	O
the	O
Observer	O
the	O
steps	O
he	O
took	O
to	O
prevent	O
child	O
pornography	O
from	O
being	O
posted	O
by	O
forbidding	O
posting	O
to	O
the	O
alt.binaries	O
newsgroups	B-Application
and	O
limiting	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
messages	O
to	O
16	O
kilobytes	O
,	O
too	O
small	O
to	O
allow	O
uuencoded	B-Device
binaries	O
such	O
as	O
pictures	O
to	O
be	O
posted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Julf	B-Application
claims	O
that	O
all	O
this	O
information	O
was	O
ignored	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
the	O
Observer	O
"	O
wanted	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
story	O
so	O
they	O
made	O
things	O
up.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1996	O
,	O
the	O
Church	O
of	O
Scientology	O
again	O
sought	O
information	O
from	O
Julf	B-Application
as	O
part	O
of	O
its	O
court	O
case	O
against	O
a	O
critic	O
of	O
the	O
Church	O
named	O
Grady	O
Ward	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Church	O
wanted	O
to	O
know	O
if	O
Ward	O
had	O
posted	O
any	O
information	O
through	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ward	O
gave	O
Julf	B-Application
explicit	O
permission	O
to	O
reveal	O
the	O
extent	O
of	O
his	O
alleged	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Julf	B-Application
told	O
the	O
Church	O
that	O
he	O
could	O
find	O
no	O
evidence	O
that	O
Ward	O
had	O
ever	O
used	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
at	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1996	O
,	O
an	O
anonymous	O
user	O
posted	O
the	O
confidential	O
writings	O
of	O
the	O
Church	O
of	O
Scientology	O
through	O
the	O
Penet	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Church	O
once	O
again	O
demanded	O
that	O
Julf	B-Application
turn	O
over	O
the	O
identity	O
of	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
,	O
claiming	O
that	O
the	O
poster	O
had	O
infringed	O
the	O
Church	O
's	O
copyright	O
on	O
the	O
confidential	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Church	O
was	O
successful	O
in	O
finding	O
the	O
originating	O
e-mail	O
address	O
of	O
the	O
posting	O
before	O
Penet	O
remailed	O
it	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
turned	O
out	O
to	O
be	O
another	O
anonymous	B-Application
remailer	I-Application
:	O
the	O
alpha.c2.org	O
nymserver	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
more	O
advanced	O
and	O
more	O
secure	O
remailer	B-Application
which	O
did	O
n't	O
keep	O
a	O
mapping	O
of	O
e-mail	O
addresses	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
subpoenaed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facing	O
much	O
criticism	O
and	O
many	O
attacks	O
,	O
and	O
unable	O
to	O
guarantee	O
the	O
anonymity	O
of	O
Penet	O
users	O
,	O
Julf	B-Application
shut	O
down	O
the	O
remailer	B-Application
in	O
September	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
