CloudFlare

Cloudflare is a US-based internet security and performance company founded in 2009. Operating one of the world's largest networks across more than 330 locations globally, Cloudflare sits in front of an organisation's public-facing websites and digital services, absorbing attacks and accelerating content delivery before traffic ever reaches the organisation's own infrastructure. For councils, this means residents continue to access online services uninterrupted, even during large-scale attacks that would otherwise take a website offline.

Without protection in place, a targeted attack can take a council website offline, preventing residents from paying rates, submitting applications, or accessing services, and forcing the IT team into emergency response. Cloudflare absorbs that attack traffic before it reaches council infrastructure, keeping public-facing services available. Beyond protection, Cloudflare also makes council websites load faster for residents by serving content from whichever of its global locations is closest to them, improving the experience for everyone using council online services.

Cloudflare has completed an IRAP assessment at the PROTECTED level, meaning Australian councils can use Cloudflare with confidence that it meets the security standards required for government data. Cloudflare holds ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI DSS certifications. It does not store council data, acting instead as a security and performance layer in front of council infrastructure.