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Security report for fortlauderdale.gov

City of Fort Lauderdale · Government · United States

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The City of Fort Lauderdale's official website serves as a comprehensive digital portal for residents, businesses, and visitors, offering a wide range of municipal services including utility billing, permitting, parking, employment opportunities, and event information. The site positions itself as a key government resource with a strong emphasis on accessibility and community engagement. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies such as jQuery, Vimeo API, Google Maps API, and the OpenCities CMS platform, ensuring a responsive and user-friendly experience across devices. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS and integrates accessibility tools, though it lacks publicly visible detailed security policies or incident response information. The WHOIS data is incomplete, typical for government domains, but the domain's .gov TLD and content authenticity strongly support its legitimacy. Overall, the website demonstrates a mature digital presence with good security posture and compliance, suitable for a large municipal government entity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

8 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. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching fortlauderdale.gov

This scan found 27 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.

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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
69
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
61

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

Fort Lauderdale's municipal website is strategically positioned as a central hub for city services and information dissemination. Its business model is that of a government service provider, targeting local residents, businesses, and visitors. The site supports transparency and civic engagement through features like commission agendas and public notices. The integration of social media and event calendars indicates active community outreach. While revenue streams are not applicable, the site supports operational efficiency and public service delivery. Partnerships with organizations such as Food For The Poor for relief efforts highlight community collaboration. The website's consistent branding and comprehensive content reflect a well-managed digital strategy aligned with government standards.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security foundation with HTTPS enforcement and use of security best practices such as avoiding exposed sensitive data and integrating accessibility compliance tools. However, the absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. The use of third-party scripts and APIs is managed carefully, but ongoing audits are recommended to mitigate risks. The security score reflects a good posture but highlights the need for formalized security documentation and public communication channels for incident handling.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to enhance transparency and preparedness.
  2. Add a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure and improve trust.
  3. Ensure Content-Security-Policy headers are configured and enforced to mitigate cross-site scripting risks.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and dependencies to avoid vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance privacy compliance disclosures, including detailed data retention policies and cookie consent mechanisms.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
City of Fort Lauderdale
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
City of Fort Lauderdale
Description
Official website of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida providing residents, businesses, and visitors with government services, news, events, and resources.
Key services
Utility Billing, Permitting Services, Parking Services, Employment Opportunities, Event Calendar, Commission Agendas
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.7.1, Vimeo Player API, Google Maps JavaScript API, OpenCities CMS, Telerik Web UI
Frameworks
ASP.NET WebForms
Platforms
Windows Server (implied by ASP.NET)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure external APIs
  • Accessibility compliance with UserWay widget

Analytics and tracking

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

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Boomerang (Akamai mPulse)
Marketing tools
Google Fonts, UserWay Accessibility Widget, Citibot Chatbot
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and navigation.
  2. Uses modern web technologies and APIs.
  3. Strong focus on accessibility and user experience.
  4. No signs of phishing or malware.
  5. WHOIS data is incomplete but domain appears legitimate.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies found publicly.
  7. Social media presence is well integrated and official.
  8. No suspicious external domains detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a mature technology stack featuring ASP.NET WebForms and the OpenCities CMS, supported by modern JavaScript libraries like jQuery and APIs such as Google Maps and Vimeo Player. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and accessibility, including integration of the UserWay widget. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of fonts and scripts to improve speed. The technical infrastructure supports a robust user experience but could benefit from modernization efforts such as migrating to more current frameworks and enhancing security headers. Hosting details are not explicit but likely involve government or cloud infrastructure. Overall, the technical implementation supports the site's functional and accessibility goals 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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