
It has taken 32 years since the first .ca domain was registered, and 20 years to the day since ICANN delegated the .ca domain registry to CIRA, but Tuesday the organisation announced there are now more than 3 million .ca domains under management.
It has taken 32 years since the first .ca domain was registered, and 20 years to the day since ICANN delegated the .ca domain registry to CIRA, but Tuesday the organisation announced there are now more than 3 million .ca domains under management.
Ireland’s ccTLD became a little bit Canadian this week as the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) now provides backend registry services to .IE, the manager of… .ie… through its CIRA Registry Platform.
As Canadian businesses pivot to digital amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is working with Digital Main Street and Google Canada to offer .CA domain names to the thousands of Canadian small businesses accessing the ShopHERE powered by Google programme.
CIRA has brought back the .CA Domain Squad, and once again they’re determined to help Canadian businesses succeed online. The .CA Domain Squad made its debut last year and was a comical attempt to get Canadians to register more .ca domain names. The latest advertising campaign has its broadcast debut with four commercials on 14 September.
CIRA, the .ca registry, has filed an intervention in a Canadian pirate site blocking appeal, along with a Canadian public interest technology law clinic, according to a report in TorrentFreak this week.
May was the biggest month ever for .ca domain name registrations with 54,129 domain names registered, an increase of 38 percent over May 2019 when 39,319 were registered according to data from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) released today. It was the biggest single month for .ca registrations since CIRA was founded in 1998.
Canada’s ccTLD registry, CIRA, has made the internet a bit safer and more private this week with the launch of CIRA Canadian Shield – a free DNS firewall service that will provide online privacy and security to individuals and families across Canada.
Continue reading CIRA Provides Canadians With Free DNS Firewall To Enhance Security And PrivacyTechnology and internet use has changed in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic began a survey data from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has found. Widespread school closures, social distancing, and work from home has significantly shifted how Canadians are using the internet to learn, work, and stay connected with friends and family.
The findings suggest that the number of Canadians working from home has skyrocketed, and that many are experiencing slower internet speeds as video streaming and video and teleconferencing are on the rise.
“COVID-19 has changed everything. It feels like overnight the entire country had to move their work, schooling, and social calendar online,” said David Fowler, vice-president, marketing and communications, CIRA, the company that manages the .ca ccTLD.
“Over the past few weeks, the power of the internet to connect us has never been more clear, nor more important. The data shows how the country is coping with our massive shift online. There are struggles as Canadians discover that working from home isn’t without its pitfalls, but we are also seeing families and friends playing games, hosting video conference parties and connecting online like never before. As Canadians do their part to fight this virus, we hope this data helps shine a light on what folks are doing online during this very unusual time in our country’s history.”
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has announced the opening of its annual $1million+ Community Investment Program granting initiative for 2020. Not-for-profits, charities, and researchers are invited to apply for funding that will improve the health and quality of Canadaâs internet. Applications close on 25 February.
The Community Investment Program from Canadaâs ccTLD manager focuses on internet-related projects in Canada and awards grants of up to $100,000, including one grant of up to $250,000. To ensure support for digital projects in underserved areas and communities, this yearâs granting cycle will give preference to initiatives that benefit students and rural, northern and Indigenous communities. CIRA is looking for projects in these four areas:
âSince 2014 weâve funded more than 150 internet projects from coast to coast to coast. Now weâre focusing in on some of Canadaâs hardest to reach places,â said David Fowler, vice-president, marketing and communications. âWeâre especially looking for projects that benefit students as well as people in rural, northern and Indigenous communities who for too long have faced barriers to participating in Canadaâs digital economy. We hope our Community Investment Program grants can help teach our youth the digital skills they need to be safe online, and fill the gaps in education and internet access for people in under-served areas of Canada.”
Since 2014, CIRAâs Community Investment Program grants have provided $6.7 million in funding for 151 projects across Canada. To learn more about the program, funding categories, and projects that CIRA has supported in the past, head to cira.ca/grants.
Past winners have included:
Canadaâs ccTLD registry has published the results of their 2019 Cybersecurity Survey Report that found 71% of organisations reported experiencing at least one cyber-attack that impacted the organisation in some way, including time and resources, out of pocket expenses and paying a ransom.
âNow more than ever, Canadians need trust in the internet,â said Byron Holland, president and CEO, CIRA. âWe believe that security is the foundation of that trust which is why we have leveraged our experience safeguarding the .CA domain to help Canadian organisations protect themselves and their users.â
The report provides an overview of the Canadian cybersecurity landscape and surveyed more than 500 individuals with responsibility over IT security decisions at both private and public sector institutions across Canada to learn more about how they are coping with the increase in cyber threats.
The full report, released as part of CIRAâs Cybersecurity Awareness Month activities, also found 96% of respondents said that cybersecurity awareness training was at least somewhat effective in reducing incidents while only 22% conducted the training monthly or better.
Other key findings were:
âWhile technical solutions are important, the best layer of security for any organisation are cyber-aware employees,â said Jacques Latour, chief security officer, CIRA. âWe are happy to see more organisations embracing cybersecurity awareness training as a critical element of their defence. However, there is more work to be done to ensure the quality and rigor of the training offered keeps pace with the ever-changing world of cybersecurity.â
The full report is available to download from: https://cira.ca/resources/cybersecurity/report/2019-cira-cybersecurity-survey