Fredericton-based Beauceron Security, which helps clients improve their cybersecurity culture, has agreed to offer training services through the organization that oversees the .ca domain registration.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority, or CIRA, issued a statement Wednesday saying it has launched its new D-Zone Cybersecurity Awareness Training platform. It will use the Beauceron solution to help enterprise customers train their users in how to protect themselves against a cyber-attack.

Growing out of the University of New Brunswick, Beauceron has developed a cloud-based risk-management platform that monitors the human elements in cyber-risk.  In other words, it helps companies and organizations make sure their staff are doing the right things to ensure they are protected against cyber-attacks.

“The responsibility for cybersecurity is no longer solely on the IT department; all users have a role to play,” said CIRA Vice-President of Product Development Dave Chiswell in the statement. “Employees who are cyber aware can be a company’s biggest asset in the escalating battle against cybercrime. Beauceron has created a platform that delivers cybersecurity training in a simple and engaging way. We are proud to have them as a partner in our growing suite of cybersecurity services.”

Beauceron has been gaining steam since it launched three years ago. Last year, it raised $1.5 million in a funding round led by New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, and was accepted into CyLon, a London, England-based accelerator for cybersecurity companies.

Partnering with CIRA will allow it to reach more customers.

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Based in Ottawa, CIRA manages the .ca domain, which is one of the fastest-growing country-specific domains in the world. It also oversees related services, such as a global Domain Name Server, or DNS, network, and one of the world’s most advanced back-end registry solutions.

The organization has been building up a suite of cybersecurity technologies and services to support its goal of building a better online industry in Canada. These services include the D-Zone DNS Firewall and D-Zone Anycast DNS, which together work within the DNS layer to defend against cyberattacks.

A DNS maintains a directory of domain names and translates them to Internet Protocol addresses.

CIRA is now broadening the scope of its cybersecurity offerings by helping its clients train their users in avoiding practices that would leave them vulnerable to cyberattacks.

CIRA’s 2018 Cybersecurity Survey found that 43 percent of all organizations still suffered business-impacting cyberattacks. Larger organizations tend to experience more attacks than smaller ones. This underscores the importance of adding employees to the defensive posture and not just treating them as a risk to be managed with technology, said the organization.

It added that organizations implementing D-Zone Cybersecurity Awareness Training, which uses the Beauceron technology, see an average three-times reduction in users being tricked by phishing emails.

The program includes industry-leading integration testing, simulation, gamification and reports to provide a fully automated platform that requires minimal IT management, said the statement. The platform automatically adjusts the frequency and level of testing and training based on user behavior.

“Beauceron is proud to be partnering with an organization that shares our goal of making a more secure online experience accessible to all Canadians,” said Beauceron CEO David Shipley. “CIRA is a trusted partner with a methodical approach to meeting the needs of their clients and community.”