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Security report for eaaforums.org

Experimental Aircraft Association · Transportation · United States

Partial score · DNS & email only

46/100

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

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) operates the EAA Forums website, a community platform dedicated to aviation enthusiasts, pilots, and aircraft builders. The site serves as a niche forum for discussions related to experimental aircraft, aviation events, and member support. The business model focuses on fostering community engagement and information sharing within the aviation sector. The domain registration and organizational details are consistent and legitimate, reflecting a well-established entity founded in 2011 in the United States. Technically, the website is built on the vBulletin 4.2.4 forum software, supplemented by YUI JavaScript libraries and Google Analytics for tracking. Hosting appears to be managed via Network Solutions with VPS nameservers. The site demonstrates moderate performance and basic mobile optimization, with a straightforward design and clear navigation. However, the use of an older forum software version and lack of modern security headers indicate some technical debt and potential security risks. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and has domain transfer protections in place, but lacks DNSSEC and modern security headers. There is no visible privacy or cookie consent mechanism, which may pose compliance risks under GDPR. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are evident. The site does not expose sensitive data but could improve its security posture by updating software and implementing additional security controls. Overall, the EAA Forums website is a legitimate, well-established community platform with good business credibility and safe content. It would benefit from enhanced privacy compliance measures and security improvements to better protect users and align with modern standards.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
6of 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. 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. 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.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  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

    • 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

  4. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

Keep watching eaaforums.org

This scan found 16 issues across 5 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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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
0
Email security
75
DNS health
75
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
58
Average
46

Not counted

  • Security headers: did not complete in this scan.
  • 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

EAA Forums occupies a specialized niche in the aviation community, providing a platform for experimental aircraft enthusiasts and members of the Experimental Aircraft Association. Its competitive advantage lies in its focused audience and affiliation with a reputable aviation organization. Revenue streams are likely indirect, supporting member engagement and brand loyalty rather than direct monetization. The forum structure and active user base indicate sustained community interest. Partnerships appear limited to the parent organization and related aviation entities. Strategic observations suggest opportunities for modernization of the technical stack and enhancement of privacy and security practices to maintain trust and compliance.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforcement and domain transfer protections. However, the absence of DNSSEC, security headers, and updated forum software introduces vulnerabilities that could be exploited. The lack of visible incident response contacts or vulnerability disclosure policies indicates limited preparedness for security incidents. Compliance gaps, particularly regarding GDPR cookie consent and privacy notices, present regulatory risks. Data protection practices appear basic, with no exposed sensitive information detected. Overall, the security culture seems functional but would benefit from formalized policies and technical upgrades.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement modern HTTP security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Upgrade the vBulletin forum software to the latest supported version or apply all relevant security patches.
  4. Add a cookie consent banner and update privacy policies to ensure GDPR compliance.
  5. Develop and publish an incident response and vulnerability disclosure policy to improve security transparency and readiness.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Experimental Aircraft Association
Description
Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) online discussion forum.
Key services
Online discussion forums, Community support, Information sharing on aviation topics, Member engagement
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
vBulletin 4.2.4, YUI JavaScript Library, Google Analytics
Frameworks
vBulletin
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
65/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by URLs)
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status to prevent unauthorized transfers
  • Manual user approval to reduce spam

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a community forum for Experimental Aircraft Association members and aviation enthusiasts
  2. Uses vBulletin forum software version 4.2.4, which is somewhat dated
  3. No privacy or cookie consent banners detected, indicating potential GDPR compliance gaps
  4. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via forum message form
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy found
  6. Google Analytics is used for tracking without visible privacy controls
  7. Domain is well-registered and consistent with business identity
  8. No adult or questionable content detected; content is safe for general audiences
Technical notes

Notes

The website relies on the vBulletin 4.2.4 platform, which is a mature but aging forum software. The use of YUI libraries and Google Analytics indicates a somewhat dated technology stack. Hosting is managed through Network Solutions with VPS nameservers, suggesting a controlled hosting environment. Performance is moderate with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO practices are basic, with meta keywords and descriptions present but no advanced structured data or Open Graph tags detected. The site would benefit from modernization efforts including responsive design improvements, updated JavaScript frameworks, and enhanced SEO and accessibility compliance.
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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