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Security report for fao.org

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations · Government · Italy

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

Security score

74/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a globally recognized international governmental organization dedicated to defeating hunger and promoting sustainable agriculture. The website serves as a comprehensive portal for information, research, and policy guidance related to food security and agriculture worldwide. It targets governments, NGOs, researchers, and the general public with authoritative content and services. The FAO holds a leading market position as a UN specialized agency with a large operational scale and a long history since 1945. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Bootstrap 5, Sitefinity CMS, Google Analytics, and MapLibre GL JS for interactive maps. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices, accessible, and SEO-friendly. Security is robust with HTTPS enforced, multiple security headers, and no detected vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and GDPR adherence. Overall, the FAO website demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure and a strong security posture appropriate for a UN agency. The lack of WHOIS data is mitigated by the domain's global recognition and organizational legitimacy. Recommendations include publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contacts to further enhance transparency and security readiness.

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

3 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 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

  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
  • 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
65
Security headers
80
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
74

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

FAO operates as a non-profit UN agency focused on food and agriculture, providing research, policy advocacy, and technical assistance globally. Its competitive advantage lies in its UN affiliation, authoritative data, and global reach. The business model is service and knowledge dissemination to governments and stakeholders. Revenue streams are primarily from UN funding and member contributions. The target customers include governments, NGOs, and researchers. The partnership ecosystem includes other UN bodies and international organizations. The website reflects a well-established organization with consistent branding and high-quality content supporting its mission.

Security posture

The FAO website exhibits a high security maturity level with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities. Data protection practices align with GDPR requirements, supported by a dedicated Data Protection Officer contact. However, the absence of a public vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response information indicates room for improvement in transparency and readiness. No signs of malware, phishing, or exposed credentials were found. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from enhanced communication of security policies and incident handling procedures.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a formal vulnerability disclosure policy to encourage responsible reporting.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information on the website.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate risks.
  4. Enhance visibility of security policies and certifications to build user trust.
  5. Develop a long-term security strategy including continuous monitoring and staff training.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Description
The FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger, improve nutrition and food security, and promote sustainable agriculture worldwide.
Key services
Research and data dissemination, Policy development and advocacy, Technical assistance and capacity building, Global monitoring of food security
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Bootstrap 5, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Swiper.js, Highcharts, MapLibre GL JS
Frameworks
Sitefinity CMS
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
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
Google Custom Search
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is official FAO site with comprehensive content on food and agriculture
  2. Strong use of modern web technologies and analytics
  3. Good privacy and cookie policy presence with consent mechanisms
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity
  5. WHOIS data unavailable but domain is globally recognized and trusted
  6. No WAF or blocking detected, full content accessible
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including Bootstrap 5 for responsive design, Sitefinity CMS for content management, and advanced JavaScript libraries such as Swiper.js and Highcharts for interactive features. Google Tag Manager and Analytics are used for data collection and performance monitoring. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices implemented. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich content and interactive elements. Technical risks are minimal, but ongoing maintenance of CMS and third-party libraries is essential to avoid technical debt and security vulnerabilities.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 73/100Medium27 findingsView report
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