Know Your Net: CADNA and BBB Launch Public Awareness, Education Campaign
Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 12, 2013 -- Rep. Tom Marino, R-PA., Vice Chairman of the House subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, will address the kickoff event Wednesday, September 18, 2013, of a month-long education campaign about new generic top-level domains (gTLDs).
Sponsored by the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), the education campaign is intended to raise public awareness about the unprecedented expansion of the Internet coming this fall with the rollout of the first new gTLDs. Critical to that public awareness is knowing how to traverse this new landscape safely, maintain the integrity of brands, and provide a positive online experience for Internet users.
“We’re honored to have Rep. Marino address the launch of our campaign on the importance of Internet safety in general but specifically because of the expansion in top-level domain names,” said CADNA President Josh Bourne. “The Internet is a revolutionary medium for communication and innovation, and the expected 2,500 percent increase in gTLDs is very much in that vein. But the benefits of the Internet come at a price. As in the real world, the virtual world can be fraught with danger. Businesses and consumers need to know how to avoid exploitation by bad actors.”
A gTLD is the text to the right of the dot in an Internet address, as in .com, .edu, and .org. Presently, there are 22 gTLDs in common use. In the coming year, approximately 1,400 new gTLDs will be available on the Internet, along with the thousands of websites that will be created in the second-level domain space, to the left of the dot in an Internet address.
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, and malware, or that 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.
The Know Your Net gTLD public awareness campaign kickoff event will explore the dangers and pitfalls of this vastly increased Internet real estate and how businesses can maintain the integrity of their brands, as well as how consumers can protect themselves against online scammers, counterfeiters, phishers, malware, and fraud. Join the conversation with #KnowYourNet.
Who: CADNA and BBB
What: Kick off event for gTLD public awareness campaign
When: Wednesday, September 18, at 09:30 a.m.
Where: Washington, DC
Leslie Phillips, CADNA, http://www.cadna.org, 202-499-4419, [email protected]
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