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Security report for darksky.org

DarkSky International · Non-profit · United States

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

DarkSky International is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to protecting night skies and reducing light pollution globally. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand presence, offering services such as certification of dark sky places and lighting products, advocacy, education, and community engagement. The organization targets environmental advocates, communities, and the general public interested in conservation. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern plugins and monitoring tools like New Relic and Google Analytics, ensuring a moderate to good performance and mobile optimization. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and Cloudflare DNS, though improvements are recommended in DNSSEC and security headers. Privacy compliance is limited due to the absence of visible privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the site is trustworthy and credible with a strong domain history and organizational alignment.

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

2 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 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. 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 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

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
75
Security headers
85
Email security
80
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
81

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 organization operates in the non-profit environmental sector with a focus on light pollution mitigation. It leverages a global network of chapters, advocates, and partners to extend its reach. The business model centers on advocacy, certification programs, and community engagement rather than commercial sales. The website supports this model with educational content and pathways for involvement. The presence of donation and membership calls to action indicates fundraising as a revenue stream. The site’s market position is strong given its long domain age and recognized certifications. Partnerships with universities and other organizations enhance credibility and outreach.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with a Cloudflare registrar and DNS, providing a secure transport layer. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which is a recommended security enhancement. The site lacks explicit Content-Security-Policy and other security headers like Referrer-Policy and X-Frame-Options, which could mitigate certain web-based attacks. No vulnerability disclosure or security policy pages were found, limiting transparency for security researchers. The use of third-party scripts and analytics is standard but should be regularly audited. Overall, the security posture is good but can be improved with additional headers and DNS security.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement a comprehensive Content-Security-Policy header to reduce XSS and code injection risks.
  3. Publish a clear privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve GDPR and privacy compliance.
  4. Add security headers such as Referrer-Policy and X-Frame-Options to enhance browser security.
  5. Establish a vulnerability disclosure or security contact page to facilitate responsible reporting.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
DarkSky International
Description
DarkSky International restores the nighttime environment and protects communities from the harmful effects of light pollution through outreach, advocacy, and conservation.
Key services
Certification of International Dark Sky Places, Certification of DarkSky Approved lighting products, Advocacy for responsible outdoor lighting, Education and outreach on light pollution, Community engagement through chapters, advocates, and delegates
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress CMS, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Advanced Ads plugin, Ecwid Shopping Cart, Interactive 3D Flipbook plugin, New Relic Browser monitoring
Frameworks
WordPress, Tailwind CSS (inferred from class names), New Relic monitoring framework
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited
  • Use of Cloudflare DNS
  • No DNSSEC enabled (recommend enabling)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, New Relic Browser
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Advanced Ads
Tracking pixels
New Relic
Marketing tools
Google Site Kit
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally maintained non-profit advocacy site.
  2. Uses modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  3. No visible privacy or cookie policies found in the provided content.
  4. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found in the HTML content.
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  6. Domain is long-established and registered to a matching organization.
  7. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
  8. Advertising is managed via Advanced Ads with Google Analytics tracking.
  9. Site is mobile optimized and accessible with good SEO metadata.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by WordPress CMS with a modern front-end design using Tailwind CSS classes. It integrates multiple plugins including Ecwid for e-commerce, Advanced Ads for advertising, and an interactive 3D flipbook plugin for enhanced content presentation. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are used for tracking, alongside New Relic for performance monitoring. The site is hosted with Cloudflare DNS and registrar services, ensuring reliable DNS resolution and domain management. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness and SEO metadata. Accessibility features are basic but present. The technical stack is mature and well-maintained, though some security enhancements are advisable.
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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