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Security report for firstgov.gov

USA.gov · Government · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

76/100

Risk levelLow

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

USA.gov is the official U.S. government web portal designed to provide citizens and residents with easy access to government benefits, services, and information. It serves as a centralized hub for a wide range of topics including passports, Social Security, taxes, voting, and more. The website is operated under the U.S. General Services Administration, reinforcing its authoritative position as a trusted government resource. The site targets the general public seeking reliable government information and assistance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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. 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 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';…
  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

    • 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

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

Keep watching firstgov.gov

This scan found 19 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

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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
95
Security headers
55
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
76

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention firstgov.gov, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
1
Employees
0
Customers
1
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
100%

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for firstgov.gov.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The website holds a strong market position as the primary official portal for U.S. government services, leveraging the .gov domain which is restricted to government entities. Its business model is focused on providing free, accessible information and service links rather than commercial revenue generation. The site integrates with various federal agencies and offers a comprehensive directory of government topics, enhancing its value to users. Partnerships with government bodies like the GSA further solidify its ecosystem and operational legitimacy.

Security posture

The site demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and secure form handling. While explicit security headers are not visible in the provided data, the use of a .gov domain and government hosting implies adherence to federal security standards. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, though the site could improve by adding a vulnerability disclosure policy and enhancing cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the security posture is strong with room for minor improvements.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a security.txt file or vulnerability disclosure policy to enhance transparency and incident response readiness.
  2. Add standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to strengthen browser security.
  3. Introduce a clear cookie consent banner/mechanism to improve privacy compliance and user awareness.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to minimize privacy risks and ensure compliance.
  5. Maintain and update WHOIS information publicly if possible to improve transparency and trust.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
U.S. General Services Administration
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
USA.gov
Description
USA.gov helps users locate and understand government benefits, programs, and information. It serves as the official guide to government information and services in the United States.
Key services
Government benefits finder, Information on passports, Social Security, taxes, voting, and more, Contact information for elected officials and federal agencies
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Drupal CMS, USWDS (U.S. Web Design System), Google Tag Manager, Crazy Egg, Siteimprove Analytics
Frameworks
USWDS
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
excellent
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure forms with proper input types
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of official .gov domain

Analytics and tracking

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

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Crazy Egg, Siteimprove Analytics
Marketing tools
Crazy Egg
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official U.S. government website with .gov domain
  2. Comprehensive government services and information portal
  3. Mobile optimized and accessible design
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious content
  6. Limited WHOIS data available but consistent with government domain policies
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal CMS and utilizes the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) for consistent government branding and accessibility. It employs modern JavaScript libraries and integrates analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager, Crazy Egg, and Siteimprove Analytics. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive images and accessible navigation. Performance is moderate, likely due to the comprehensive content and multiple third-party scripts. Hosting details are not explicit but likely government-managed infrastructure. Technical risks are minimal with no visible deprecated or vulnerable libraries.
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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