Skip to main content

Security report for cftc.gov

Commodity Futures Trading Commission · Government · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

76/100

Risk levelLow

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

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is a U.S. federal government agency responsible for regulating derivatives markets including futures and swaps. The website serves as the official portal for regulatory information, market data, enforcement actions, and consumer protection resources. It targets market participants, industry professionals, and the general public with authoritative content and timely news updates. The CFTC holds a strong market position as the primary derivatives regulator in the United States. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10 with Bootstrap for responsive design, leveraging modern web technologies and third-party services such as Google Tag Manager and DigitalGov Web Vitals for analytics and performance monitoring. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, contributing to a positive user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and includes multiple security headers. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the absence of a cookie consent mechanism and explicit incident response policies suggests room for improvement in privacy compliance and transparency. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professional, and secure, with minor gaps in privacy and security policy disclosures. The incomplete WHOIS data is typical for .gov domains and does not detract from the site's legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include implementing cookie consent, publishing incident response and vulnerability disclosure policies, and adding terms of service to enhance user trust and compliance.

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

3 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

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

Keep watching cftc.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.

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
90
Security headers
45
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
76

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 CFTC operates as a government regulatory agency with a clear mandate to oversee derivatives markets. Its business model is non-commercial, funded by federal appropriations, focusing on market integrity and consumer protection. The agency maintains a comprehensive ecosystem of services including market data dissemination, enforcement, and educational outreach. Its competitive advantage lies in its authoritative regulatory role and extensive market oversight capabilities. The website reflects a mature digital presence aligned with government standards, supporting transparency and stakeholder engagement. Partnerships with other government entities and public outreach programs further strengthen its operational footprint.

Security posture

The CFTC website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, robust SSL configuration, and implementation of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security. The use of Drupal CMS implies built-in protections against common web vulnerabilities. No signs of exposed credentials, malware, or phishing indicators were found. However, the lack of a published incident response policy and vulnerability disclosure program limits transparency and may delay coordinated security responses. Privacy compliance is generally good but could be enhanced with explicit cookie consent and clearer data retention disclosures. Overall, the site is secure but would benefit from improved policy visibility and user privacy controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a visible cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and enhance user trust.
  2. Publish a formal incident response policy and contact channels to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Provide clear terms of service to define user rights and obligations, improving legal clarity.
  5. Regularly review and update privacy and security policies to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Description
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is a U.S. government agency that regulates the derivatives markets, including futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options. It aims to protect market participants and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices related to derivatives and to foster open, transparent, competitive, and financially sound markets.
Key services
Market regulation and oversight, Enforcement actions, Industry filings and registrations, Market data and economic analysis, Consumer protection and education, Fraud prevention and whistleblower program
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Bootstrap 3.4.5, JavaScript, Google Tag Manager, DigitalGov Web Vitals
Frameworks
Drupal CMS, Bootstrap CSS Framework
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens (implied by Drupal)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager), DigitalGov Web Vitals
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
DigitalGov Web Vitals
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 regulatory website for derivatives markets
  2. Comprehensive and professional content with frequent news updates
  3. Strong branding and consistent use of official logos and colors
  4. Use of modern web technologies and CMS (Drupal 10)
  5. Secure HTTPS with good security headers
  6. No cookie consent mechanism detected
  7. No visible terms of service or explicit security policies
  8. WHOIS data incomplete but domain legitimacy supported by .gov TLD and content
  9. Social media presence on major platforms with official links
  10. No suspicious or malicious external domains detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern and stable technology stack centered on Drupal 10 CMS and Bootstrap 3.4.5 for responsive design. It integrates analytics via Google Tag Manager and DigitalGov Web Vitals for performance monitoring. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and accessibility features, with valid meta tags supporting SEO. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by the use of multiple external CSS and JS libraries. The absence of broken elements and the presence of structured navigation contribute to a positive user experience. Hosting details are not explicitly identified but the use of .gov domain and security headers suggests a government-managed infrastructure with strong security controls.
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 cftc.gov. 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 cftc.gov.

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.