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Security report for ac-la.org

ACLA ACLA · Other · United States

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

53/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Architecture for Communities Los Angeles (ACLA) is a small non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering communities in Los Angeles through architecture education, events, and engagement. Their website serves as a hub for promoting community events, student exhibitions, scholarships, and sustainability initiatives. The organization targets students, architects, and community members interested in architecture and social impact within the Los Angeles region. The site reflects a consistent brand and professional presentation aligned with their mission. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with WooCommerce for donations and event registrations, leveraging common libraries such as jQuery, RoyalSlider, and Slick Carousel. Hosting is provided by InMotion Hosting, and the site uses HTTPS with a good SSL configuration. SEO and mobile optimization are well addressed, though accessibility features are basic. Analytics are implemented via Google Analytics and Jetpack Stats, but the Google Analytics plugin is not fully configured. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses domain transfer protections. However, it lacks DNSSEC and important security headers like Content-Security-Policy. No cookie consent mechanism is present, which may impact GDPR compliance. Payment processing is handled securely via Authorize.Net CIM. No incident response or security policy is published, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is found. Overall, the website is safe, professional, and trustworthy with a moderate security posture. Recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, adding security headers, implementing cookie consent, completing analytics configuration, and publishing security policies to enhance compliance and trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  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
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  3. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

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

Keep watching ac-la.org

This scan found 26 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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
60
DNS health
70
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
58
Average
53

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

ACLA operates as a regional non-profit focused on architecture and community engagement in Los Angeles. Their business model centers on educational programs, events, scholarships, and community outreach funded by donations and sponsorships. The organization has established partnerships with reputable architecture firms and institutions, enhancing its credibility and reach. The website reflects a stable and consistent brand presence with clear communication of mission and services. Growth indicators include scheduled events and active community programs. The partnership ecosystem includes AIA Los Angeles and several architecture firms, indicating strong industry ties.

Security posture

The current security maturity level is moderate. The site uses HTTPS with valid SSL and domain transfer protections, which are positive indicators. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers exposes the site to potential DNS spoofing and clickjacking risks. The lack of a cookie consent mechanism and incomplete analytics configuration suggest gaps in privacy compliance. No explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which could delay response to security incidents. Payment processing is securely integrated via Authorize.Net. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a small non-profit but can be improved to meet higher compliance standards.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement essential security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Add a cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  4. Complete the configuration of Google Analytics plugin or remove unused tracking scripts to reduce privacy risks.
  5. Publish a security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ACLA ACLA
Description
Architecture for Communities Los Angeles Architecture for Communities Los Angeles
Key services
Community engagement events, Student exhibitions and scholarships, Workshops and summits, Sustainability charrettes, Donations and sponsorships
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, WooCommerce, jQuery, RoyalSlider, Slick Carousel, Google Analytics, MonsterInsights, Authorize.Net payment gateway
Frameworks
Bootstrap 4
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientTransferProhibited and clientUpdateProhibited to prevent unauthorized transfers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure payment gateway (Authorize.Net CIM)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Jetpack Stats
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Multiview
Tracking pixels
Jetpack Stats
Marketing tools
MailMunch
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a WordPress-based non-profit organization site focused on architecture community in Los Angeles.
  2. Content is well structured with clear navigation and event promotion.
  3. Use of multiple third-party scripts for analytics, advertising, and payment processing.
  4. No cookie consent mechanism detected, which may affect GDPR compliance.
  5. No explicit security headers found in HTML content.
  6. WHOIS data is consistent and domain is actively maintained with transfer protections.
  7. No signs of adult or questionable content; site is safe for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern WordPress CMS platform with WooCommerce for e-commerce capabilities. It uses popular JavaScript libraries and plugins for UI components and analytics. Hosting is provided by InMotion Hosting, a reputable provider. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO practices. Some technical debt is noted in incomplete analytics setup and missing security headers. The site is well structured with clear navigation and consistent branding. Opportunities exist to modernize security configurations and enhance privacy compliance to reduce technical risks.
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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