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Security report for acehardware.com

Ace Hardware · Retail · United States

Medium risk. 1 critical or high finding in SSL/TLS.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Ace Hardware operates a large retail and e-commerce platform specializing in hardware, home improvement, lawn and garden, and tools. The website serves a broad consumer audience including homeowners and DIY enthusiasts, offering online shopping with in-store pickup options. The brand is well-established with consistent branding and a professional online presence. Technically, the site uses modern JavaScript frameworks like React, integrates with analytics and marketing tools such as Google Tag Manager, Monetate, and Datadog RUM, and is built on the Mozu e-commerce platform. The site is mobile optimized and accessible with good SEO practices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced, security headers present, and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. WHOIS data is unavailable, likely due to privacy or query limitations, but other trust signals support legitimacy. Overall, the site is professional, secure, and trustworthy.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 100 · Low
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

1 finding 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

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

Keep watching acehardware.com

This scan found 14 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

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  • 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
75
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
71

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

Ace Hardware holds a strong market position as a major retail chain in the hardware and home improvement sector. Its business model combines physical retail stores with a robust e-commerce platform, targeting general consumers and DIY customers. The company leverages partnerships with payment processors like PayPal and uses advanced marketing and personalization tools to enhance customer engagement. The presence of official social media channels and customer service contact points further supports its market credibility. The website's content and structure reflect a mature digital strategy aligned with enterprise-level retail operations.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and secure form implementations. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive information were detected in the HTML content. The use of third-party scripts is managed but should be regularly audited to mitigate supply chain risks. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms indicate compliance with GDPR and related regulations. However, the absence of a published incident response policy or security.txt file suggests room for improvement in transparency and vulnerability disclosure readiness. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from enhanced incident response communication.

Recommendations

  1. Conduct regular security audits of third-party scripts and dependencies to prevent supply chain vulnerabilities.
  2. Publish an incident response policy and consider adding a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting.
  3. Enhance transparency by detailing data retention policies and user data handling practices.
  4. Implement anti-CSRF tokens on all forms to strengthen input security.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies to reflect evolving regulatory requirements.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Ace Hardware
Description
Shop Ace Hardware for grills, hardware, home improvement, lawn and garden, and tools. Buy online & pickup today!
Key services
Retail sales of hardware and home improvement products, Online shopping with in-store pickup, Customer service support
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, React, Google Tag Manager, Datadog RUM, Monetate personalization, Mozu e-commerce platform
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Mozu
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper input types

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Datadog RUM
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Monetate, Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Datadog RUM
Marketing tools
Monetate
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking mechanisms.
  2. Strong branding and consistent professional design.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  5. No visible security vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data.
  6. WHOIS data unavailable, but website legitimacy supported by other trust signals.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack featuring React and Mozu e-commerce platform, supported by advanced analytics and marketing tools like Google Tag Manager, Monetate, and Datadog RUM. The site is mobile responsive and optimized for accessibility and SEO. Performance is moderate, with potential for improvements in load times by optimizing third-party script usage. The infrastructure appears robust and scalable, suitable for enterprise retail operations. Technical debt is minimal based on the current analysis, though continuous modernization and security updates are recommended to maintain operational excellence.
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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