Know Your Net
Internet Safety Campaign
Our Mission
The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) have teamed up to launch a public awareness campaign to educate businesses and consumers about Internet safety, particularly with the expected addition of more than one thousand new gTLDs.
What We Do
The Know Your Net Campaign consists of communicating best practices tips for businesses and consumers through the websites and social media channels of the campaign sponsors and other interested parties. The campaign also share stories from organizations that deal with cybersquatting – contact us and share your story. Help us spread the word on the impact of cybersquatting!
New gTLDs
In the next year, approximately 1,400 new gTLDs will become available on the Internet in addition to the 22 commonly used now, such as .COM, .EDU, and .ORG. Along with the 2,500 percent increase in gTLDs, thousands upon thousands of new websites will be created in each gTLD’s second-level domain space, to the left of the dot in an Internet address.
New gTLDs may spur great online innovation. But they also may confuse consumers at first and provide cybersquatters with new opportunities to exploit that confusion. What steps should be taken to address these problems? The most important is to raise public awareness about the new gTLD program, its opportunities, and its challenges.
A major part of cybercrime involves cybersquatted websites that lure unsuspecting Internet users into a false sense of security by incorporating well-known trademarks into domain names that host Pay-Per-Click links, phishing scams, malware, or peddle counterfeit goods. Recent studies report that cybercrime could cost the global economy as much as $500 billion annually and potentially result in the loss of 500,000 U.S. jobs alone.
Who We Are
The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse, Inc. (CADNA), a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit corporation founded in 2007, seeks to make the Internet a safer and less confusing place for consumers and businesses alike. Its mission is to decrease instances of cybersquatting in all its forms by facilitating dialogue, effecting change, and spurring action on the part of policymakers in the national and international arenas.
The Council for Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) is the network hub for BBBs in the US and Canada. CBBB is dedicated to fostering honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers, instilling consumer confidence and contributing to a trustworthy marketplace for all.
In addition to CBBB and CADNA, other participants in the campaign are the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), which will mark October as National Cyber Security Awareness month, and AARP.
Participate
On Twitter, follow #KnowYourNet. Contact us about sharing these Know Your Net documents with your audiences: cadna.org/contact.