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Security report for cancer.gov

National Cancer Institute · Healthcare · United States

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) website serves as the authoritative U.S. government source for comprehensive cancer information, research, and resources. It targets a broad audience including patients, caregivers, researchers, and healthcare professionals. The site offers extensive content on cancer types, treatments, clinical trials, and funding opportunities, positioning NCI as a leading entity in cancer research and public health education. The website reflects the stature of a large government enterprise with a long history dating back to 1980 and operates under the National Institutes of Health umbrella. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern web technologies and analytics tools such as Adobe DTM, CrazyEgg, and Google Tag Manager. It demonstrates excellent performance, mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices. The site integrates multiple tracking and marketing tools while maintaining good privacy compliance and transparency. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and follows best practices in form security and data protection. However, explicit security headers are not evident in the provided data, and a formal security.txt file is absent. Privacy and security policies are comprehensive and publicly accessible, supporting GDPR compliance. No vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected, and the domain is a trusted .gov domain, reinforcing legitimacy. Overall, the website exhibits a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and technical maturity. It effectively balances user experience, content quality, and security, making it a reliable resource for cancer-related information. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, implementing cookie consent mechanisms, and publishing a security.txt file to further strengthen security posture and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

5 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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 26 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

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

Keep watching cancer.gov

This scan found 20 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

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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
62
Security headers
55
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
72

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

NCI holds a dominant position as the principal U.S. government agency for cancer research and information dissemination. Its business model is government-funded, focusing on research support, public education, and clinical trial facilitation. The website supports multiple user segments including patients, researchers, and healthcare providers, indicating a broad and inclusive target market. The presence of funding and grant information highlights its role in research ecosystem facilitation. The partnership ecosystem includes other government entities such as NIH and HHS, enhancing credibility and reach. The site’s extensive content and digital maturity reflect a strategic investment in digital transformation to support its mission. Growth indicators include ongoing research updates, leadership announcements, and budget plans. The website’s integration with social media and analytics tools supports engagement and data-driven decision making.

Security posture

The security maturity of the NCI website is strong, with mandatory HTTPS and secure form implementations. Privacy and security policies are comprehensive and publicly available, indicating a mature compliance posture. The absence of explicit security headers suggests room for improvement in defense-in-depth strategies. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected, and tracking scripts are from reputable sources. Incident response contact information is not explicitly found, which could be enhanced. The domain’s .gov status and privacy-protected WHOIS data align with government standards, reducing risk of malicious activity. Overall, the site demonstrates a robust security culture appropriate for a government health agency but could benefit from additional technical security controls and transparency measures.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Introduce a cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply fully with GDPR and other privacy regulations regarding user tracking and data collection.
  3. Publish a security.txt file at the root domain to provide clear vulnerability disclosure and incident response contact information.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to ensure no vulnerabilities or privacy risks are introduced.
  5. Enhance incident response readiness by publicly providing dedicated security contact channels and response procedures.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
National Cancer Institute
Description
Accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive cancer information from the U.S. government's principal agency for cancer research.
Key services
Cancer information and education, Research funding and grants, Clinical trials information, Cancer prevention and treatment resources, Cancer data and statistics
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Google Fonts, Adobe DTM (Dynamic Tag Management), CrazyEgg tracking scripts, Google Tag Manager, Digital Analytics Program (DAP) scripts
Frameworks
Drupal CMS
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
excellent
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper labels and ARIA attributes
  • Privacy and security policies clearly stated

Analytics and tracking

Services
CrazyEgg, Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics via Google Tag Manager, Digital Analytics Program
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
CrazyEgg
Tracking pixels
CrazyEgg, Adobe DTM, Digital Analytics Program
Marketing tools
Adobe DTM
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official U.S. government cancer research website
  2. Comprehensive and well-structured content
  3. Strong branding and consistent design
  4. Multiple language support (English and Spanish)
  5. Robust technical implementation with modern CMS and analytics
  6. Clear contact and support channels
  7. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity
  8. No WAF or blocking detected
  9. Privacy and security policies are present and comprehensive
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10, a modern and widely supported CMS, ensuring a solid foundation for content management and security updates. It uses Google Fonts for typography and integrates Adobe DTM and Google Tag Manager for marketing and analytics, reflecting a mature digital marketing infrastructure. Performance is optimized with responsive images and preconnect hints. Accessibility features such as ARIA roles and skip navigation links are implemented, supporting compliance with accessibility standards. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly with comprehensive meta tags and structured data. No hosting provider details were explicitly found, but the use of .gov domain and NIH affiliation suggests government hosting infrastructure. Overall, the technical stack is modern, performant, and well-maintained, supporting the site’s mission-critical functions.
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. 74/100Medium24 findingsView report
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