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Security report for ecrimeresearch.org

Anti-Phishing Working Group, Inc · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

58/100

Risk levelMedium

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

APWG eCRIME is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to unifying global research efforts against cybercrime, particularly phishing and electronic crime. It operates as a collaborative platform bringing together industry, academia, and government entities to foster innovation and share knowledge. The organization hosts peer-reviewed conferences, publishes research papers, and offers scholarships to support emerging researchers in the field. Its market position is strong, supported by partnerships with recognized cybersecurity companies and a long-standing domain presence since 2006. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using modern plugins and frameworks such as WPBakery, Kadence Blocks, and LayerSlider. The site is hosted via GoDaddy and uses HTTPS with a good SSL configuration. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and basic accessibility features. However, security headers are not explicitly detected, and DNSSEC is not enabled, indicating room for improvement in technical security hardening. From a security posture perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses domain status locks to prevent unauthorized changes. Cookie consent mechanisms are implemented, but explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure information are absent. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The domain registration is privacy protected but consistent with the organization's profile, and the domain age supports legitimacy. Overall, the website presents a professional and trustworthy front with good content quality and business credibility. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, enabling DNSSEC, publishing detailed security and incident response policies, and improving accessibility compliance to further strengthen trust and compliance.

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

3 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.

    • 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

  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

  3. DNS health

    DNS sends visitors and email to the right servers. Misconfigured records can cause outages or let someone redirect your traffic.

    • High

      Unregistered MX Record

      MX record points to unregistered domain: mail.apwg.org.ecrimeresearch.org

      What to do: Remove or fix MX record pointing to unregistered domain

      • RFC 5321 §5.1
      • NIS2 21(2)(i)
      • IR 2024/2690 12.4: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 12.4: Asset inventory
      • NIST CM-8: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-8: System Component Inventory

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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
0
Security headers
85
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
68
Average
58

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

APWG eCRIME operates as a non-profit research consortium focused on combating cybercrime through collaboration among industry, academia, and government. Its business model relies on memberships, sponsoring solutions, and partnerships with major cybersecurity firms. The organization targets cybersecurity professionals, researchers, and policy makers globally. Its competitive advantage lies in its established reputation, IEEE-published proceedings, and a broad ecosystem of premium and sponsoring members including McAfee, Paypal, RSA, and others. The organization demonstrates growth through continuous events, research publications, and scholarship programs. Its partnership ecosystem is robust, linking to multiple cybersecurity and financial service providers, enhancing its market reach and influence.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and domain status protections in place. However, the absence of security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options reduces its defense-in-depth posture. No explicit security or incident response policies are published, which may impact transparency and readiness. The cookie consent banner indicates awareness of privacy compliance, but GDPR-specific compliance is not fully evident. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the analysis. The use of privacy protection in WHOIS is justified and common for organizations in this sector. Overall, the security posture is adequate but could benefit from enhanced technical controls and policy disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTP security headers including CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Enable DNSSEC to protect domain name resolution integrity.
  3. Publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  4. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance website accessibility features to meet WCAG standards and improve user inclusivity.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Anti-Phishing Working Group, Inc
Description
APWG eCRIME is a research initiative unifying global research on cybercrime by bringing together Industry, Academia and Government organizations. It focuses on counter-cybercrime innovation in the public interest, including peer-reviewed conferences, research papers, and scholarships.
Key services
Applied research on cybercrime, Symposium on Electronic Crime Research, Publication of research papers, Scholarship programs, Membership and sponsoring solutions
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, PHP, jQuery, Kadence Blocks, LayerSlider, Slider Revolution, Contact Form 7, Google Fonts, Google Maps API
Frameworks
WPBakery Page Builder, Kadence Blocks
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • ClientDeleteProhibited and other domain status flags set
  • Cookie consent banner implemented

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook SDK
Marketing tools
Google Fonts, Google Maps API
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-established non-profit research organization focused on cybercrime and anti-phishing.
  2. Content is professionally presented with clear navigation and relevant information.
  3. Use of multiple known cybersecurity partners and sponsors enhances trust.
  4. No critical security issues detected; HTTPS is enforced.
  5. Privacy and cookie policies are present but could be more comprehensive.
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response information found.
  7. No phone numbers or direct email addresses publicly listed; contact via form only.
  8. No terms of service or vulnerability disclosure policy found.
  9. No security headers detected in HTML content; DNSSEC not enabled.
  10. Use of common WordPress plugins and frameworks; moderate performance.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using a combination of popular plugins such as WPBakery Page Builder, Kadence Blocks, LayerSlider, and Contact Form 7. It leverages Google Fonts and Google Maps APIs for enhanced UI and functionality. Hosting is provided by GoDaddy, with domain registration dating back to 2006. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness. The site uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate but lacks advanced security headers. The technical stack is modern but could be optimized further for performance and security hardening. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected in the provided content.
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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