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Security report for afsecuador.org

AFS Intercultural Programs, INC. · Education · Ecuador

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

AFS Ecuador is a non-profit organization focused on intercultural learning through student exchange, hosting, and volunteer programs. The website targets students, host families, and volunteers in Ecuador, offering educational and cultural exchange opportunities. The organization is part of the global AFS network, promoting global citizenship and cultural understanding. The website is well-branded, consistent, and provides clear information about its services and mission. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern plugins such as Yoast SEO and Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise for security. It uses CDN hosting via Cloudfront for performance and includes responsive design for mobile users. SEO and accessibility are adequately addressed, though some accessibility features could be improved. Security posture is good with HTTPS enforced and anti-bot measures in place. However, explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not detected, which could be improved. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and serves its educational mission well. The main risk is the lack of WHOIS data, which slightly reduces domain trustworthiness but does not detract from the site's legitimacy based on content and social presence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
95/ 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

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

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

      What to do: Add SPF record: "v=spf1 include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com ~all"

  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';…

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

Keep watching afsecuador.org

This scan found 25 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.

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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
57
Security headers
15
Email security
40
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
95
Average
63

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

AFS Ecuador operates as a medium-sized non-profit in the education sector, focusing on intercultural exchange programs. Its business model relies on volunteer engagement, student participation, and host family involvement. The organization benefits from a strong international brand and local presence in Ecuador. Key competitive advantages include a well-established global network, comprehensive program offerings, and community trust. Revenue streams likely include program fees and donations. The website supports growth by providing clear program information and volunteer recruitment. Partnerships with global AFS entities and local stakeholders enhance its ecosystem. Strategic observations include the need for improved domain registration transparency and enhanced security headers to strengthen trust.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise protecting forms against bots. Privacy and cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options represents a gap that could expose the site to clickjacking or MIME sniffing attacks. No incident response or security policy information is publicly available, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. The WHOIS data is unavailable, which may raise concerns but does not directly impact site security. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from additional hardening and documented security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Ensure regular updates and patching of WordPress core, themes, and plugins to prevent vulnerabilities.
  3. Publish a clear security policy and incident response plan accessible to users and stakeholders.
  4. Improve accessibility features to enhance usability for all users, including those with disabilities.
  5. Enhance domain registration transparency by ensuring WHOIS data is complete and publicly available to improve trust.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
AFS Intercultural Programs, INC.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
AFS Intercultural Programs, INC.
Description
AFS Ecuador is a non-profit international organization promoting intercultural learning through student exchanges, hosting, and volunteering programs.
Key services
Student exchange programs, Hosting international students, Local volunteer programs
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.1, Yoast SEO plugin, Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise, jQuery, Google Fonts (Montserrat, Lato, Merriweather), Typekit Fonts
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise for forms
  • Privacy and cookie consent banners

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (implied by GTM container ID)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise
Marketing tools
AddToAny social sharing
Transparency
basic

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 challenge.
  2. Content is in Spanish targeting Ecuadorian audience interested in intercultural exchange.
  3. Uses modern web technologies and CDN for performance.
  4. Includes privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response info found.
  6. WHOIS data is missing or inaccessible, limiting domain trust analysis.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern WordPress platform with a well-maintained tech stack including Yoast SEO for search optimization and Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise for bot protection. It uses CDN hosting via AWS Cloudfront to improve performance and global reach. Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts and Adobe Typekit, enhancing branding consistency. The site is mobile responsive with good navigation clarity. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in caching and asset optimization. Accessibility is basic but could be improved with ARIA roles and better keyboard navigation. SEO is well implemented with meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the business goals effectively with room for security and accessibility enhancements.
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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