DomainTools Grant Program

Investigative Journalism and Research

DomainTools is committed to making the Internet a safe place for everyone. We support journalists, academic researchers, NGOs, and non-profit cybersecurity-related organizations worldwide with grants for access to our services. We believe these grants are vital to advance the cause of cyber security globally.

Grant Applicant Screening

Our services are used by investigative reporters and security researchers worldwide for threat attribution, investigations, threat intelligence analysis, and other highly sensitive applications. Therefore, we carefully screen all prospective grantees of our services so we can verify their identity, and that their proposed uses of our services are legitimately aimed at improving the safety of the Internet.

DomainTools Investigative Journalism Grant Program

We know that high quality investigative journalism requires investment, including the right tools to help reporters dig deeper. Today, reporters use Farsight DNSDB and Iris Investigate as tools to aid their investigations. To support these important efforts, DomainTools offers the Investigative Journalism Grant Program. The program provides eligible applicants free access to Farsight DNSDB and Iris Investigate.

We ask that applicants:
Work for a print, broadcast or online news organization
Work as an investigative reporter, editor or data journalist
Commit to a 2-hour DNSDB training course prior to using the tool

Additionally, student journalists are welcome (and encouraged) to apply.

DomainTools Research Grant Program

In order to qualify for a grant, there are specific criteria that you or your organization must meet to qualify. If you are being paid and/or your organization has paid employees, has fees and/or revenues associated with it, we may require partial or full funding of your DomainTools subscription. If your organization is pure voluntarism, you may qualify for a full grant.

We need to know:
  • Who you are (legal name and physical address)
  • What kind of research you want to undertake, including a detailed proposal and methodology
  • Where you will be conducting your research
  • What kind of data you believe you will need, and why
  • What you believe the product of your research will be and where you anticipate submitting your paper (if applicable)
We also ask that you share the results of your research with us once it’s complete. We may link it from our Research page.
Applications can be sent to [email protected] – please use the email body for the application text (no unsolicited attachments). It is helpful if you email us from your work/school/organization account.