GreenNet is a not-for-profit

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. It was established in 1985 "as an effective and cheap way for environmental activists to communicate". In 1987 the

Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) is a philanthropic grant making trust that supports work undertaken in the UK and Ireland, and previously South Africa. It is one of three original trusts set up by Joseph Rowntree in 1904. The Trust ...

gave GreenNet a grant to enable it to bring a large number of peace groups online, and "After a few years they became one of the first internet service providers in Britain". GreenNet formed an international link with IGC and was a founder member of the

Association for Progressive Communications The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace ...

, established in 1990. The registered charity GreenNet Charitable Trust was established in 1994 and owns GreenNet.

GnFido

GreenNet developed a Fido gateway, GnFido, which allowed access to basic internet facilities such as email using a

store-and-forward Store and forward is a telecommunications technique in which information is sent to an intermediate station where it is kept and sent at a later time to the final destination or to another intermediate station. The intermediate station, or node in ...

system. It provided the only available cheap and accessible internet access for thousands of individuals and organisations in Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe.

2013 DDoS Attack

On 1 August 2013, GreenNet and the

(APC) suffered an extensive

DDoS attack In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a p ...

. The attack was later described as a "DNS reflection attack" also known as a spoofed attack Several sources initially suspected the attack was linked to the Zimbabwean Elections, which had been held on the previous day. GreenNet's services were not fully operational again until 10.30 BST on Thursday 7 August. On 9 August there was a second attack, which, while affecting some systems, allowed GreenNet to discover the site which was being targeted. In October 2013, the target was revealed to be the site of investigative reporter

Andrew Jennings Andrew Jennings (3 September 1943 – 8 January 2022) was a British investigative reporter. He was best known for his work investigating and writing about corruption in the IOC and FIFA. Early life Jennings was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, o ...

2014 Legal Action on GCHQ Hacking

In July 2014

Privacy International Privacy International (PI) is a UK-based registered charity that defends and promotes the right to privacy across the world. First formed in 1990, registered as a non-profit company in 2002 and as a charity in 2012, PI is based in London. Its cu ...

, GreenNet and five other

Internet Service Provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

s took

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Unit ...

, the UK security service, to the

Investigatory Powers Tribunal In the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) is a judicial body, independent of the British government, which hears complaints about surveillance by public bodies—in fact, "the only Tribunal to whom complaints about the Intel ...

, alleging breach of privacy and breaking into their networks. The case ultimately failed, but GCHQ were forced to admit clandestine hacking activities. GreenNet were shortlisted for ISPA's Internet Hero of the year 2015.

References

External links

GreenNetGreenNet Educational TrustMitra Ardron's archive of GreenNet and APC history
* A French study about the major NGOs that includes GreenNet since 2011/2012 *{{EW charity, 1037080, GreenNet Educational trust Organizations established in 1985 Non-profit organisations based in London Internet service providers of the United Kingdom Pre–World Wide Web online services History of the Internet 1985 establishments in England