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Security report for antiphishing.org

Anti-Phishing Working Group, Inc · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

55/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is a well-established non-profit organization founded in 2004, dedicated to unifying global efforts against cybercrime, particularly phishing. It operates through a membership model that includes industry leaders, government agencies, law enforcement, and academic researchers. APWG provides key services such as data exchange on phishing activities, research promotion, public awareness campaigns, and hosts annual events like the Symposium on Electronic Crime Research. The organization also supports specialized groups such as the Crypto Currency Working Group to protect digital assets. Technically, the APWG website is built on a modern WordPress platform with WooCommerce integration, utilizing popular plugins and frameworks such as WPBakery, Slider Revolution, and Kadence Blocks. The site employs HTTPS with a good SSL configuration and integrates analytics tools including Google Analytics and Amplitude for user behavior tracking. Mobile optimization and SEO practices are good, though accessibility features are basic. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates solid practices including domain locking and HTTPS enforcement. However, it lacks DNSSEC, a security.txt file, and explicit incident response contact details, which are areas for improvement. No WAF or blocking mechanisms interfere with site accessibility, indicating open and reliable access. Overall, APWG presents a credible and professional online presence with strong business credibility and trust indicators. The absence of a visible privacy policy and some security best practices slightly reduce its compliance posture. Strategic enhancements in privacy disclosures and DNS security would further strengthen its security and compliance standing.

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

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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';…

  2. 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 Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

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

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Keep watching antiphishing.org

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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
52
Security headers
15
Email security
95
DNS health
80
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
50
Average
55

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

APWG holds a strong market position as a global leader in anti-phishing and cybercrime collaboration. Its competitive advantage lies in its extensive membership network spanning industry, government, and academia, enabling effective data sharing and research dissemination. The business model is primarily membership and sponsorship-driven, supplemented by research events and publications. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, sponsorships, and event registrations. Target customers are cybercrime professionals, law enforcement, and researchers worldwide. Growth indicators include active research programs, annual symposiums, and expanding partnerships. The partnership ecosystem includes reputable organizations such as ICANN and Microsoft, enhancing APWG's influence and reach. Operationally, APWG maintains a professional digital presence with consistent branding and comprehensive content supporting its mission.

Security posture

APWG exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protections in place. The use of security plugins and monitoring scripts indicates active security management. However, the lack of DNSSEC implementation and absence of a published security policy or vulnerability disclosure mechanism represent compliance gaps. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Incident response readiness is unclear due to missing explicit contact channels for security issues. The organization should prioritize publishing a security.txt file and incident response contacts to improve transparency and readiness. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could benefit from enhanced DNS security and formalized disclosure policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain security.
  2. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy page to address GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  3. Create and publish a security.txt file and a vulnerability disclosure policy to facilitate responsible reporting.
  4. Add explicit incident response contact information (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email addresses) on the website.
  5. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers and other modern security headers to harden the website.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Anti-Phishing Working Group, Inc
Description
The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is a global coalition unifying the response to cybercrime through data exchange, research, and public awareness. It offers membership opportunities for cybercrime professionals from industry, law enforcement, government, and academia. APWG manages research programs, hosts events such as the Symposium on Electronic Crime Research, and promotes protection against phishing and cybercrime.
Key services
Phishing activity data exchange, Cybercrime research promotion, Public awareness campaigns, Membership collaboration, Annual research symposium, Crypto Currency Working Group
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.1, WooCommerce 9.8.5, WPBakery Page Builder, Slider Revolution, Stackable Ultimate Gutenberg Blocks, Kadence Blocks, Google Analytics (gtag.js), Amplitude Analytics, jQuery, Select2
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WooCommerce
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Domain locked with clientTransferProhibited status
  • Use of security plugins (Wordfence script detected)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Amplitude Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Amplitude Analytics
Marketing tools
Amplitude
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-established non-profit organization focused on anti-phishing and cybercrime research.
  2. Content is rich with membership, research, and event information.
  3. No privacy policy page explicitly found, which is a compliance gap.
  4. Cookie policy with consent mechanism is present.
  5. No visible contact emails or phone numbers explicitly labeled on the homepage.
  6. Use of modern WordPress plugins and analytics tools.
  7. No WAF or blocking detected; site fully accessible.
  8. Security practices are good but could be improved with DNSSEC and security.txt.
  9. Strong trust indicators from partner logos and long domain history.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a robust WordPress CMS with a modern tech stack including WooCommerce for e-commerce capabilities and several advanced Gutenberg block plugins for content management. The use of popular analytics platforms like Google Analytics and Amplitude indicates a mature approach to user behavior analysis. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization especially in script loading and image delivery. Mobile responsiveness is good, ensuring accessibility across devices. The site uses a reputable registrar and has a long domain history, which supports operational stability. Technical risks include reliance on multiple third-party scripts and plugins which require regular updates to mitigate vulnerabilities. Opportunities exist to enhance security headers and implement DNSSEC for improved resilience.
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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