The county's website is now hosted at weld.gov, as of Oct. 5, though the public can still access the website by going to weldgov.com, which will redirect the user to weld.gov, according to a county news release.
The change includes county employees' email addresses, though the public will still be able to communicate using the previous email addresses.
The change to a .gov site improves security and searchability, ensuring users are on the official county government website and requiring a more secure connection. Anyone can purchase a .com domain, but .gov domains are available only to U.S.-based government organizations and publicly controlled entities. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an agency established in 2018 under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, sponsors the .gov domain.
Weld County Chief Information Officer Ryan Rose said in the release the county initially used a .com domain because the .gov domain was expensive to purchase and somewhat complicated to obtain. In 2021, the domains were made available at no cost to qualifying organizations, following the .gov domain's shift from the U.S. General Services Administration to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
"Over the years, as technology has improved and increased in our daily use, people looking to commit online fraud have become more sophisticated," Rose said in the release. "Government at all levels understand the importance of keeping their systems and information safe, and this is just one more way Weld County is doing just that."
The move to weld.gov comes during Cybersecurity Awareness Month and follows a number of cyberattacks on government websites. The day of the move, the Colorado state government's homepage, colorado.gov, was taken down due to a cyberattack. In July, Frederick officials announced they were investigating allegations that hackers accessed the town's computer network.
The city of Greeley is one of a number of municipalities in Weld County that continues to operate with a .com domain name. For more information about .gov, go to home.dotgov.gov.
© 2022 the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
