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Security report for buywomenowned.com

WBENC · Retail · United States

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 3 other checks.

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

BuyWomenOwned.com is a professionally maintained website operated by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a leading non-profit organization focused on certifying and advocating for women-owned businesses in the United States. The site serves as a platform to promote women entrepreneurs, provide certification services, and offer a curated directory of women-owned brands. It also features educational content such as podcasts and campaigns to raise awareness and support for women-owned businesses. The website targets consumers and businesses interested in supporting women entrepreneurs and fosters a community around this mission. Technically, the website is built on WordPress and leverages modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and Slick Carousel for interactive features. It integrates Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for user tracking and marketing analytics. The site is hosted by GoDaddy and uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate, though DNSSEC is not enabled. The website is mobile optimized with good SEO practices and basic accessibility features. From a security perspective, the site follows standard best practices including HTTPS enforcement and cookie consent mechanisms. However, it lacks advanced security headers and does not provide explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure information. No security contact emails or security.txt files were found. The domain registration is consistent with the business claims, showing no suspicious patterns. Overall, the security posture is solid but could be improved with additional security headers and transparency around incident response. Overall, BuyWomenOwned.com is a trustworthy and credible platform with excellent content quality and a clear mission. It effectively supports women-owned businesses through certification, advocacy, and consumer engagement. Strategic improvements in security transparency and DNS security could further enhance its trustworthiness and resilience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

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

  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';…

  3. 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

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

Keep watching buywomenowned.com

This scan found 27 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.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

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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
62
Security headers
15
Email security
60
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
61

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 website positions WBENC as the largest third-party certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S., leveraging partnerships such as WEConnect International to extend global reach. Its business model is non-profit advocacy combined with certification services, targeting both women entrepreneurs and conscious consumers. Revenue streams likely include certification fees and sponsorships. The platform supports growth through educational content, podcasts, and a product directory, fostering a community and marketplace for women-owned brands. The partnership ecosystem includes social media channels and international certification bodies. The website’s content and structure indicate a mature organization with a clear market niche and strong brand recognition.

Security posture

The security maturity level of the website is moderate to good. HTTPS is properly implemented, and cookie consent is enforced, indicating compliance with privacy regulations. The presence of an anti-discrimination policy popup reflects organizational transparency. However, the absence of DNSSEC, security.txt, and explicit incident response contacts suggests gaps in advanced security practices and readiness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The site uses standard third-party libraries without known vulnerabilities. Overall, the security culture appears adequate but could benefit from enhanced security controls and clearer communication channels for security incidents.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options to harden the website against common attacks.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Add explicit incident response contact information (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email addresses) to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to meet higher compliance standards and improve user experience for all visitors.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
WBENC
Description
Women Owned is an initiative from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and WEConnect International to create a movement of support for Women Owned businesses. WBENC is the largest third-party certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. and a leading advocate for women entrepreneurs.
Key services
Certification of women-owned businesses, Women Owned product directory, Advocacy and awareness campaigns, Educational resources and podcasts, Networking and development opportunities
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.5.1, Slick Carousel, Fancybox, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, WordPress
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Cookie consent banner implemented
  • Anti-discrimination policy popup for transparency

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well maintained.
  2. Content is comprehensive and focused on women-owned business certification and support.
  3. Good use of social media and multimedia content (podcast, Instagram feed).
  4. Cookie consent and privacy policies are implemented and accessible.
  5. No direct company emails or phone numbers found on the homepage; contact via form only.
  6. No explicit security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  7. No incident response or security contact emails found.
  8. No DNSSEC enabled, which is a minor security gap.
  9. Use of Google Analytics and Tag Manager indicates moderate user tracking.
  10. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform, utilizing jQuery 3.5.1, Slick Carousel, and Fancybox for interactive UI components. Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are integrated for analytics and marketing purposes. The site is hosted by GoDaddy.com, LLC, with a domain created in 2019 and active registrar locks. Performance is moderate with responsive design for mobile devices. SEO is well implemented with meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. No critical technical debt or outdated libraries were detected, indicating good maintenance and modernization efforts.
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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