Skip to main content

Security report for bbbmarketplacetrust.org

International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. · Non-profit · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust is a non-profit educational foundation under the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., focused on building a trustworthy marketplace accessible to all consumers and businesses. It operates a network of 91 BBBs across North America and offers key services such as the BBB Scam Tracker, consumer education, and specialized initiatives for military and veterans. The organization is well-positioned in the non-profit sector with strong trust indicators including a Charity Navigator four-star rating and partnerships with major corporations. Technically, the website is built on WordPress and leverages modern web technologies including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and Gravity Forms. Hosting appears to be on AWS infrastructure. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, though performance is moderate. Analytics and tracking are implemented via Google Analytics and other tools, with moderate user tracking levels. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses reCAPTCHA v3 on forms, but lacks DNSSEC and some recommended security headers. There is no explicit published security or incident response policy, and no cookie consent mechanism was detected, which may impact GDPR compliance. The WHOIS data is consistent and legitimate, matching the organization's identity and domain age. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained with minor areas for improvement in security and privacy compliance to enhance user trust and regulatory adherence.

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

6 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 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 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

  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
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching bbbmarketplacetrust.org

This scan found 23 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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
42
Security headers
70
Email security
85
DNS health
65
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

The BBB Institute operates as a trusted non-profit entity focused on consumer protection and marketplace trust. Its market positioning is strong due to its affiliation with the Better Business Bureau network and partnerships with major sponsors such as Amazon, Capital One, PayPal, and Walmart. The business model centers on educational outreach, scam prevention tools, and research publications. Revenue streams likely include sponsorships and donations. The target audience includes consumers, small businesses, and military communities. Growth indicators include expanding program reach and active engagement through newsletters and events. The partnership ecosystem is robust, supporting credibility and resource availability. Strategic observations highlight the organization's focus on data-driven program development and community impact.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and clientTransferProhibited domain status to prevent unauthorized transfers. Use of reCAPTCHA v3 on forms helps mitigate automated abuse. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers like Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security represents areas for enhancement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The lack of a published security or incident response policy may limit transparency and preparedness. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved by adopting additional best practices and explicit policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and readiness.
  4. Add a cookie consent mechanism to comply fully with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure no vulnerabilities are introduced.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.
Description
BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust (BBB Institute) seeks to build a trustworthy marketplace accessible for everyone by empowering consumers and businesses to avoid scams and succeed in the marketplace.
Key services
BBB Scam Tracker, Consumer education programs, Military & Veterans Initiative, Small Business support, Research and publications
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Gravity Forms, AddToAny sharing, Swiper.js
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
AWS (DNS via AWS Route 53)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Use of reCAPTCHA v3 on forms

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Gauges
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Gauges
Marketing tools
AddToAny sharing
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Content is comprehensive and focused on consumer protection and scam prevention.
  3. Multiple trust signals including BBB branding and Charity Navigator rating.
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  6. No cookie consent mechanism detected despite GDPR compliance claims.
  7. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and Gravity Forms. Hosting is likely on AWS infrastructure, indicated by DNS nameservers. The site uses Swiper.js for interactive elements and AddToAny for social sharing. Performance is moderate, with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and structured navigation. Technical debt appears low, but enabling DNSSEC and improving security headers would modernize the security posture. The site is well-maintained with opportunities for further optimization in performance and privacy compliance.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with bbbmarketplacetrust.org. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review bbbmarketplacetrust.org.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.