OTTAWA – May 14, 2012 – On May 14, 2012, Canada’s .CA turns 25 years old. It was on this day in 1987 that the .CA top-level domain was officially delegated by Jon Postel, operator of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), to John Demco at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Demco and a group of volunteers ran the registry for 13 years. Since 2000, the registry for .CA domain names has been run by the Ottawa-based Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).

“We owe a debt to the visionaries who set up .CA in the 1980s,” explained CIRA’s President and CEO Byron Holland. “While many people today may take the Internet for granted, the fact is, without the foresight of people like John Demco, the Internet might not have developed as we now know it.”

In 1987, the Internet was a very different entity. Very few Canadians were online, and until 1990 only governments and the academic community were able to register .CA domains. The very first .CA domain name was registered to the University of Prince Edward Island in 1988. Today, .CA is an integral part of the Canadian economic and social landscape.

From 1987 to 2000, the volunteers at UBC registered almost 60,000 domain names. Now with more than 1.9 million domain names registered, .CA is the world’s 14th-largest domain registry, and it has the fourth-highest growth rate over the past five years.

Research conducted by CIRA suggests that:

• The .CA domain is viewed as being safe, secure and trusted.
• Canadians value .CA, with 88 per cent of Internet users seeing it as an important resource for Canadians.
• Forty-nine per cent of Canadian Internet users say they are proud to be Canadian and feel a personal connection to the .CA domain extension.

“The growth in both the size of the registry and in the role .CA plays in Canadians’ lives bodes well for the next 25 years of .CA,” said Holland. “As we move more and more of our lives online, .CA is becoming the ‘flag on the virtual backpack’ for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.”

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About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For more information, please contact:

Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
(613) 237-5335 ext. 262
tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

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OTTAWA – May 14, 2012 – On May 14, 2012, Canada’s .CA turns 25 years old. It was on this day in 1987 that the .CA top-level domain was officially delegated by Jon Postel, operator of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), to John Demco at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Demco and a group of volunteers ran the registry for 13 years. Since 2000, the registry for .CA domain names has been run by the Ottawa-based Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).

“We owe a debt to the visionaries who set up .CA in the 1980s,” explained CIRA’s President and CEO Byron Holland. “While many people today may take the Internet for granted, the fact is, without the foresight of people like John Demco, the Internet might not have developed as we now know it.”

In 1987, the Internet was a very different entity. Very few Canadians were online, and until 1990 only governments and the academic community were able to register .CA domains. The very first .CA domain name was registered to the University of Prince Edward Island in 1988. Today, .CA is an integral part of the Canadian economic and social landscape.

From 1987 to 2000, the volunteers at UBC registered almost 60,000 domain names. Now with more than 1.9 million domain names registered, .CA is the world’s 14th-largest domain registry, and it has the fourth-highest growth rate over the past five years.

Research conducted by CIRA suggests that:

• The .CA domain is viewed as being safe, secure and trusted.
• Canadians value .CA, with 88 per cent of Internet users seeing it as an important resource for Canadians.
• Forty-nine per cent of Canadian Internet users say they are proud to be Canadian and feel a personal connection to the .CA domain extension.

“The growth in both the size of the registry and in the role .CA plays in Canadians’ lives bodes well for the next 25 years of .CA,” said Holland. “As we move more and more of our lives online, .CA is becoming the ‘flag on the virtual backpack’ for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.”

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About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For more information, please contact:

Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
(613) 237-5335 ext. 262
tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

Read Original

OTTAWA – May 14, 2012 – On May 14, 2012, Canada’s .CA turns 25 years old. It was on this day in 1987 that the .CA top-level domain was officially delegated by Jon Postel, operator of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), to John Demco at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Demco and a group of volunteers ran the registry for 13 years. Since 2000, the registry for .CA domain names has been run by the Ottawa-based Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).

“We owe a debt to the visionaries who set up .CA in the 1980s,” explained CIRA’s President and CEO Byron Holland. “While many people today may take the Internet for granted, the fact is, without the foresight of people like John Demco, the Internet might not have developed as we now know it.”

In 1987, the Internet was a very different entity. Very few Canadians were online, and until 1990 only governments and the academic community were able to register .CA domains. The very first .CA domain name was registered to the University of Prince Edward Island in 1988. Today, .CA is an integral part of the Canadian economic and social landscape.

From 1987 to 2000, the volunteers at UBC registered almost 60,000 domain names. Now with more than 1.9 million domain names registered, .CA is the world’s 14th-largest domain registry, and it has the fourth-highest growth rate over the past five years.

Research conducted by CIRA suggests that:

• The .CA domain is viewed as being safe, secure and trusted.
• Canadians value .CA, with 88 per cent of Internet users seeing it as an important resource for Canadians.
• Forty-nine per cent of Canadian Internet users say they are proud to be Canadian and feel a personal connection to the .CA domain extension.

“The growth in both the size of the registry and in the role .CA plays in Canadians’ lives bodes well for the next 25 years of .CA,” said Holland. “As we move more and more of our lives online, .CA is becoming the ‘flag on the virtual backpack’ for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.”

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About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For more information, please contact:

Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
(613) 237-5335 ext. 262
tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

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Ottawa, May 10, 2012 – The Canadian Internet Registration Authority’s (CIRA) Nomination Committee is seeking dynamic individuals with an interest in shaping the Internet in Canada. This marks the official launch of CIRA’s twelfth Board of Directors Election.

CIRA’s Nomination Committee will review applications and select the Final Nomination Committee Slate which will then be voted on by .CA Members during the September election. There are three nomination committee seats available, all of which will hold three-year terms.

Canadians with governance experience and relevant background in industry, technology or the Internet are encouraged to apply. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, law, marketing and communications or technology.

This is a unique opportunity to work with Canada’s Internet leaders as they develop strategy and policy that positions .CA for operational excellence. The skills, experience and expertise Board members bring to the table will help guide CIRA as it fulfills its mandate to manage the .CA domain as a key public resource for the benefit of all Canadians.

Applications may be submitted between May 10 and June 8 at: https://elections.cira.ca/2012/en/nom_com_nominees.html.
    
The Internet belongs to all of us, and impacts every aspect of our lives. CIRA’s election process provides Canadians and .CA Members an opportunity to take a leadership role in the development of the Internet of the future to ensure it continues to be an open and accessible public resource.

Information on CIRA’s Board of Directors Election can be found at CIRAelections.ca.

About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

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For additional information, please contact:
Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager
613-237-5335 ext. 262
tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

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Ottawa, April 20, 2012 – The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), in collaboration with Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), has developed an online DNS Checker to screen users’ computers for the DNSChanger malware.

Recently, through Operation Ghost Click, the FBI uncovered an extensive cyber criminal activity, whereas millions of computers around the world were infected with malicious software without the knowledge of the user. The malware, called DNSChanger, affected the Domain Name System (DNS) configuration of the user’s computer system. The DNS is the system that changes domain names into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (for example, cira.ca=192.228.29.1. For more on how the DNS works you can visit http://youtu.be/2ZUxoi7YNgs). The malware infrastructure, which affected over 20,000 Canadian IP addresses, redirected unsuspecting user’s to rogue DNS servers, allowing the cyber criminals to manipulate the user’s web activity. Because of the complexity and sophistication of this malware, detection and removal is challenging without the help of an IT security professional.

Due to its experience in managing the DNS in Canada, CIRA was approached by Public Safety Canada to assist in developing a tool that allows Canadian Internet users to detect if their computer is affected by the DNSChanger malware.

The result of this collaboration with the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) at Public Safety Canada and the CRTC is the DNSChanger Malware Checker, located at http://DNS-OK.ca/.

Once the user agrees to the Terms and Conditions, the DNS Checker will match the DNS Internet Protocol (IP) address employed by the user’s computer against the known Operation Ghost Click IP addresses. When completed, the user is greeted by either a green banner, which indicates that their computer is not infected with the malware, or a red banner, which indicates that their computer system may be infected with the malware. If the banner is red, the user is encouraged to consult the Public Safety Canada website that provides further information on detection and removal of the DNSChanger malware. For more information please visit http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/em/ccirc/2011/in11-002-eng.aspx.

 “This type of initiative really speaks to the collaborative nature of the Canadian Internet community, and the key role CIRA plays,” said CIRA’s president and CEO Byron Holland. “CIRA is committed to providing Canadian Internet users with a safe, secure and trusted online experience and this DNS Checker provides an important resource for Canadians to screen their computer for the DNSChanger malware”.

The DNSChanger Malware Checker does not screen for any other virus, malicious code or malware.

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About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For more information, please contact:

Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority
(613) 237-5335 ext. 262
tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

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Ottawa, April 17, 2012 – The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is pleased to announce its newly selected Nomination Committee members.

The Nomination Committee helps build a CIRA Board of Directors that represents a wide range of views and interests as it defines the strategic direction of .CA, for today and into the future. It plays a critical role in soliciting and selecting qualified Candidates for the Nomination Committee Slate of CIRA’s Board of Directors Election.

Nomination Committee members were selected from applicants from a cross-section of public, private, not-for-profit, and academic sector organizations that reflect the diversity of Canada’s Internet community.

The 2012 Nomination Committee is comprised of the following new and re-appointed members who join the Committee for a two-year term: Tim Denton, Michael Hrybyk, Colleen Arnold, Rochelle Grayson and Stuart MacDonald. They join current members Bill Graham, Michel Lamontagne, Len St-Aubin, Debi Rosati, Andrew Sullivan, and Heather Dryden (ex-officio member appointed by the Government of Canada).

CIRA wishes to acknowledge the contributions of outgoing Nomination Committee members Ruth Corbin and Jeff Rybak. CIRA also thanks all applicants and extends its congratulations to selected members.

For more information about CIRA’s Board of Directors Election, please visit the Election page.

About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For additional information, please contact:
Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager
613-237-5335 ext. 262
Tanya.OCallaghan@cira.ca

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The Globe and Mail reported on .CA following the domain seizure of Bodog.com

Why Bodog’s fate suggests .ca domains are a safer harbour than .com – March 31, 2012

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This is to advise that CRC Systems Inc. is no longer a CIRA Certified Registrar.

In order for CRC Systems Inc. .CA Registrants to maintain their .CA domain name(s), Registrants will be responsible for transferring their domain name registration(s) to a new CIRA Certified Registrar of their choice.  All affected Registrants have been informed by CIRA of this development.

Should you require assistance with this, please contact our Registration Support Unit, by email at info@cira.ca, or by phone at 1-877-860-1411.

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Ottawa, March 22, 2012 – .CA website holders have until March 23rd to enter national awards program!

Time is running out for holders of .CA websites wishing to enter the second annual .CA Impact Awards; March 23, 2012 is the last day to enter.

Organized by the Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA), the awards celebrate.CA websites and applications that make a positive impact in our community.  Winners of each category will receive $5,000 and visibility through CIRA communications.

Entries can be submitted in any of four categories: Public sector and Not-for-Profit, eLearning, Small Business, and Applications (including gaming and mobile).

Confirmed judges include the following Canadian industry leaders:

• Peter Evans, SpeakerFile
• Matt Matheson, Movember Canada
• Iris Almeida-Cote, Canada World Youth
• Paul Taillefer, Canadian Teachers’ Federation
• Valerie Fox, Ryerson University
• Danielle Labossiere Parr, Entertainment Software Association
• Howard Donaldson, DigiBC
• Trevor Lawrence, Fog Studios

The .CA Impact Awards is free to enter. Any .CA website that taps into the Internet’s potential to make a positive impact, be it social, cultural, political, technological or economic has a good chance to win.  Enter now online.

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About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For more information or to arrange media interviews with the event speakers, please contact:
Tanya O’Callaghan
Communications Manager
613-237-5335 ext. 262
tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

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Ottawa, March 14, 2012 - The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) in collaboration with Public Safety Canada has developed an online DNS Checker to screen user’s computer for the DNSChanger malware that has affected approximately 20,000 Canadian computers.

What is the DNSChanger Malware?

Recently, the FBI uncovered a sophisticated cyber criminal activity that infected millions of computers around the world with malicious software without the user’s knowledge. The malware affected the Domain Name System (DNS) of the targeted computer and redirected unsuspecting users to rogue DNS servers, allowing the cyber criminals to manipulate the user’s web activity. This malware is called DNSChanger and detection and removal of the malicious software is extremely difficult. As a resource for Canadian Internet users to screen their computer for the malware, CIRA developed an online DNS Checker.

How does the DNS Checker work?

Once the user agrees to the Terms and Conditions, the DNS Checker will match the user’s Internet Protocol (IP) address against known IP addresses associated with the DNSChanger malware. When completed, the user is greeted by either a green banner, which indicates that their computer is not infected with the malware, or a red banner, which indicates that their computer system is infected with the malware. If the banner is red, the user is encouraged to consult the Public Safety Canada website that provides further information on detection and removal of the DNSChanger malware.

The DNS Checker will not screen the user’s computer for any other virus, malicious code or malware.

You can check your computer by visiting www.DNS-OK.ca.

For more information please contact info@cira.ca.

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About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

Read Original