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Security report for downeyca.org

City of Downey, CA · Government · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The City of Downey, CA website serves as the official digital presence for the municipal government, providing residents, businesses, and visitors with access to city services, information, and resources. The site offers key functionalities such as water bill payments, council agendas, job postings, and community event calendars, positioning itself as a comprehensive portal for local government engagement. The website targets a broad audience including local residents, businesses, and visitors, supporting civic participation and service delivery. Technically, the site employs a mature technology stack including AngularJS, Bootstrap, and Vision CMS, supported by Google Analytics and Tag Manager for performance and user behavior insights. Accessibility is addressed through dedicated widgets and the inclusion of axe-core, reflecting a commitment to inclusive design. Performance is moderate with CDN support from Akamai, and the site is mobile optimized with clear navigation. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and incorporates session management and XSS filtering within its CMS. However, explicit security headers such as CSP and X-Frame-Options are not evident, and no published security or incident response policies are found. Privacy compliance is basic, with a privacy policy present but lacking cookie consent mechanisms or GDPR-specific disclosures. No WHOIS data was retrievable, but the domain and website content strongly indicate legitimacy as an official government entity. Overall, the website demonstrates a solid foundation in content quality, technical implementation, and business credibility, with room for improvement in privacy compliance and security policy transparency. Strategic enhancements in these areas would strengthen trust and regulatory adherence, supporting the city’s digital service goals.

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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  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 downeyca.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

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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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
68

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 City of Downey operates as a local government entity providing essential public services and community engagement through its website. Its market position is that of a trusted municipal authority serving a medium-sized population. The business model focuses on service delivery and information dissemination rather than commercial revenue generation. Key revenue streams are not applicable, but the site supports operational efficiency through online payments and service requests. The target customer segments include residents, local businesses, visitors, and government officials. Growth indicators include digital adoption of services like online plan submissions and mobile app downloads. The partnership ecosystem includes technology providers such as Granicus and Akamai. Strategic observations highlight a focus on accessibility, community involvement, and transparency through published agendas and reports.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and CMS-level protections against XSS. The inclusion of session timeout and extension mechanisms indicates attention to session security. However, the absence of explicit security headers and published security policies suggests gaps in defense-in-depth and transparency. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Compliance with privacy regulations is partial, lacking cookie consent and incident response contacts. The security culture appears functional but could benefit from formalized policies and enhanced header configurations. Overall, the site is secure for general public use but should address these gaps to meet higher compliance and security standards.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance browser security.
  2. Deploy a cookie consent banner and update privacy disclosures to align with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  3. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and dependencies to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance accessibility features and conduct periodic testing to maintain compliance with evolving standards.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
City of Downey, CA
Description
Official municipal government website providing information and services for the City of Downey, California.
Key services
Water bill payment, City council agendas and documents, Job opportunities, Community services and resources, Event calendar, Online service requests
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
AngularJS, jQuery, Bootstrap v3.4.1, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Axe-core accessibility testing library, Accessible Web Widget
Frameworks
AngularJS, Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of session timeout and session extension mechanisms
  • XSS keyword filtering in CMS
  • Accessibility compliance scripts included

Analytics and tracking

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

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Akamai mPulse
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and navigation
  2. No WHOIS data available due to malformed WHOIS response
  3. Official city government site with multiple services and resources
  4. Good use of accessibility features and compliance scripts
  5. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners detected
  6. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found
  7. Social media presence on major platforms
  8. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a Vision CMS platform with AngularJS and Bootstrap frameworks, leveraging jQuery and modern JavaScript libraries. It integrates Google Analytics and Tag Manager for user tracking and performance monitoring, and uses Akamai mPulse for real user monitoring. The site is mobile optimized and includes accessibility widgets powered by axe-core. Performance is moderate, with CDN usage improving load times. The HTML and CSS are valid and well-structured, supporting SEO and accessibility. Technical debt appears low, but modernization opportunities exist in updating AngularJS to a newer framework version. The site’s infrastructure supports scalability and user engagement effectively.
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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