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Security report for aviationweather.gov

National Weather Service Aviation Weather Center · Government · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Email security and 1 other check.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Aviation Weather Center (AWC) website is an official U.S. government platform operated under the National Weather Service and NOAA. It provides authoritative and comprehensive aviation weather information including observations, forecasts, advisories, and data APIs targeted at aviation professionals globally. The site is well-established with a domain age dating back to 1999, reflecting its long-standing role in aviation safety and weather dissemination. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies such as JavaScript ES modules, Bootstrap 5, and Leaflet.js for interactive maps. It is hosted on Akamai infrastructure, ensuring fast and reliable delivery. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and demonstrates good SEO practices. Analytics are implemented via DigitalGov and Google Tag Manager, with moderate user tracking. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with strong security headers and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, it lacks explicit cookie consent mechanisms and published security or incident response policies, which are recommended for enhanced compliance and transparency. Overall, the Aviation Weather Center website is a highly credible, secure, and professional government resource critical for aviation safety. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance and security transparency would further strengthen its trustworthiness and user confidence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

    • 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

  2. 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.

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

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

  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching aviationweather.gov

This scan found 22 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
60
Email security
50
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
69

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

AWC holds a dominant position as the official U.S. government aviation weather provider, serving a niche but critical market segment including pilots, air traffic controllers, and aviation agencies. Its business model is service-oriented, funded by government resources, focusing on public safety and information dissemination rather than commercial revenue. The website supports a broad ecosystem of aviation stakeholders with real-time data, forecasts, and tools such as PIREP submission and advanced mapping. Partnerships with NOAA and Department of Commerce enhance its operational scope and credibility. Growth indicators include continuous updates to data APIs and outreach efforts. The site’s integration with related government domains and testbeds reflects a mature and collaborative operational environment.

Security posture

The Aviation Weather Center website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no detected vulnerabilities in the provided content. The use of privacy protection in WHOIS is standard for government domains and does not raise concerns. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contact, or vulnerability disclosure program represents a compliance gap. The site’s moderate user tracking is balanced with privacy considerations typical of government services. Recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, publishing security and incident response information, and implementing explicit cookie consent to align with GDPR and other privacy regulations. These steps would enhance transparency and user trust without compromising operational security.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and integrity.
  2. Implement a clear cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply with GDPR and privacy best practices.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  4. Consider establishing a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance contact information availability by providing direct support emails or phone numbers for aviation weather inquiries.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
National Weather Service Aviation Weather Center
Description
The Aviation Weather Center (AWC) is a U.S. government entity providing consistent, timely, and accurate weather information for the world airspace system.
Key services
Weather observations, Forecast maps, SIGMET and AIRMET products, Center Weather Advisories, Data APIs, PIREP submission
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript ES Modules, Bootstrap 5, Leaflet.js, DigitalGov Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure cookies
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
DigitalGov Analytics, Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
DigitalGov Analytics
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official U.S. government aviation weather service website
  2. Comprehensive aviation weather data and forecast products
  3. Mobile optimized and accessible design
  4. Secure HTTPS with strong security headers
  5. No evidence of phishing, malware, or suspicious content
  6. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners detected
  7. Contact available via form but no direct emails or phone numbers publicly listed
  8. Use of modern JavaScript modules and analytics tools
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack including ES modules, Bootstrap 5, and Leaflet.js for interactive mapping. Hosting on Akamai ensures robust performance and global content delivery. The site is mobile responsive and accessible, with good SEO metadata and structured navigation. Analytics are implemented via government-approved DigitalGov and Google Tag Manager scripts, balancing data collection with privacy. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or static site architecture typical of government portals. The site demonstrates low technical debt and good modernization, though opportunities exist to improve privacy compliance and security transparency.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 68/100 −1Medium31 findingsView report
  2. 69/100Medium30 findingsView report
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