CIRA Canadian Shield Launches Extension for Chrome and Firefox

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) announced on Tuesday it has launched a browser extension of its Canadian Shield cybersecurity tool, available for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Support for other browsers is coming soon, says the CIRA.

CIRA Canadian Shield’s browser extension is free and builds upon its existing support for iOS, iPadOS and Android.

According to the CIRA, there are close to 4 million Canadians using Canadian Shield. The new extension is made to “protect in-browser internet traffic by preventing devices from accessing malicious sites, therefore, protecting online privacy and security.”

Users will be able to see visual notifications if a site is malicious or not. For non-techies, CIRA Canadian Shield may help prevent phishing scams and other fraudulent attempts.

“This browser extension continues CIRA’s momentum of building a safer internet for Canadians by making it simple and easy for anyone, no matter their level of knowledge, to protect themselves online. We keep users’ data private and enhance online security ,” says Tanya O’Callaghan, Vice President, Community Investment, Policy and Advocacy at CIRA, in a statement to iPhone in Canada.

The cybersecurity tool offers real-time security technology to protect devices, while also will notify users of malicious links in Gmail, plus also protects users from visiting malicious sites and offers the ability to safely search the web.

The security is achieved by offering DNS privacy, ensuring your DNS requests remain in Canada. Your device DNS settings will see requests run through the CIRA’s Canadian server network.

The CIRA says Canadian Shield blocks over 100,000 new threats daily through its partnership with Akamai and the latter’s global threat feed. The CIRA says your DNS traffic private data is private and remains inside Canada and they will never sell or use your personal data.