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Security report for a2c.quebec

A2C | Association des Agences de Communication Créative · Media · Canada

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

64/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

The A2C (Association des Agences de Communication Créative) is a well-established Quebec-based association founded in 1988, representing over 100 creative communication agencies. The organization focuses on promoting excellence, advocacy, and providing resources and events to its members, who collectively generate a significant portion of the industry's revenue in Quebec. The website serves as an information hub for agencies and clients, offering directories, guidance on agency selection, and industry news. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Bootstrap, jQuery, and various analytics and consent management tools. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, with good content quality and consistent branding. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms, though some security headers and explicit policies could be improved. WHOIS data shows privacy protection typical for such organizations, with no suspicious indicators. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and compliant with privacy regulations.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
50/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  2. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1

  3. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Cloudflare, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching a2c.quebec

This scan found 15 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Security headers
65
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
Average
64

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

A2C holds a strong market position as a key industry association in Quebec's communication sector, providing advocacy, networking, and professional development services to its members. Its business model revolves around membership fees and event participation, targeting communication agencies and their clients. The association leverages partnerships and social media to enhance its reach and influence. The website content and structure support member engagement and industry promotion, reflecting a mature and stable organization with growth potential through expanded services and digital presence.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent compliant with GDPR. However, the absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and security headers indicates room for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The use of privacy protection in WHOIS is justified and common. To enhance security posture, the organization should implement security headers, publish a security policy, and consider a vulnerability disclosure program.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to harden site security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain security.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and plugins for vulnerabilities and update them promptly.
  5. Consider adding a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
A2C | Association des Agences de Communication Créative
Description
L’A2C, fondée en 1988, se consacre à favoriser l’excellence, faire rayonner et défendre les intérêts de ses 108 agences membres. Son ambition est de faire de l’industrie de la communication stratégique et créative un incontournable dans la création de valeur économique, sociale et culturelle.
Key services
Member advocacy, Industry events and training, Resource provision, Agency directory, Communication excellence promotion
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Bootstrap, Slick Carousel, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Yoast SEO, Complianz GDPR Cookie Consent, SiteOrigin Panels
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data detected
  • Use of security plugins (Complianz)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Microsoft Clarity
Marketing tools
Microsoft Clarity
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
good
User experience
good
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
good
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges
  2. Content is in French with English alternate available
  3. Strong focus on communication agencies in Quebec
  4. Comprehensive cookie consent and privacy compliance mechanisms implemented
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage content
  6. Use of multiple analytics and tracking tools with consent management
  7. No visible security policy or incident response information
  8. No terms of service page detected
  9. WHOIS data shows privacy protection but domain is stable and legitimate
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using a combination of modern front-end libraries and plugins including Bootstrap for responsive design, Slick Carousel for sliders, and SiteOrigin Panels for layout management. Analytics and tracking are implemented via Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Microsoft Clarity, integrated with a GDPR-compliant cookie consent plugin (Complianz). The site loads moderately fast with good mobile optimization and SEO practices including structured data (JSON-LD) and meta tags. Hosting appears to be with GoDaddy based on registrar and nameservers. Technical debt is low, but security headers and DNSSEC are missing, representing opportunities for technical improvements.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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