OTTAWA – April 2, 2020 – As Canada’s internet copes with the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19 crisis, today, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is providing free access to its cybersecurity services and infrastructure to help those institutions and businesses that need it most.
Starting today, all hospitals, healthcare facilities, and small businesses will be able to protect their infrastructure from cyber-attacks with six months of free access to CIRA DNS Firewall. Unfortunately, hackers are taking advantage of some of our most vulnerable institutions in this challenging time and CIRA would like to lend its expertise and infrastructure to help protect them.
In addition, CIRA is providing early access to a new free service, CIRA Canadian Shield, for all healthcare workers, small businesses and educational institutions to protect their personal devices and home networks while working and learning remotely.
Key facts
- All hospitals, healthcare facilities and medical clinics in Canada can add CIRA DNS Firewall to their networks and devices for free until September 30, 2020.
- All small businesses and non-profits with fewer than 100 employees can protect their business with free access to CIRA DNS Firewall until September 30, 2020.
- All healthcare workers, teachers, students and remote employees will also receive early access to CIRA Canadian Shield—a free DNS firewall to protect their personal devices and home networks from malware and phishing attacks.
- CIRA is also opening up access to a free Cybersecurity Awareness Training course for remote workers as well as students and teachers who are learning from home.
- CIRA DNS Firewall is powered by CIRA’s extensive Canadian DNS footprint and enhanced by Akamai’s global DNS threat feed, which blocks 1 million new domains every month for customers in Canada.
For more information on these initiatives, please visit: www.cira.ca/protect-canada
