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Security report for gusto.com

Gusto · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 2 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS and Security headers.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Gusto is a well-established technology company specializing in online payroll and HR solutions targeted primarily at small and medium-sized businesses. The company offers a comprehensive people platform that facilitates employee onboarding, payroll processing, benefits administration, and insurance management. Positioned as a leader in customer satisfaction, Gusto leverages modern SaaS delivery models to serve a large customer base with a focus on ease of use and compliance support. The website reflects a mature digital presence with professional design, clear navigation, and extensive content relevant to its business domain. Technically, the website is built on a modern stack including Next.js and React, hosted with Cloudflare DNS and CDN services. It employs advanced analytics and tracking tools such as Snowplow, FullStory, and Tealium, alongside a robust cookie consent mechanism powered by OneTrust. The site demonstrates excellent performance, mobile optimization, and accessibility features, indicating a high level of digital maturity. From a security perspective, Gusto enforces HTTPS with strong SSL configurations and implements key security headers to protect users. The presence of SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications further underscores its commitment to security and compliance. However, there is room for improvement in publishing explicit security policies, incident response procedures, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms to enhance transparency and trust. Overall, Gusto presents a low-risk profile with strong business credibility, technical sophistication, and privacy compliance. Strategic recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, publishing dedicated security and incident response pages, and providing clear contact information for data protection officers to further strengthen its security posture and regulatory compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 100 · Low
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

2 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. 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';…

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Keep watching gusto.com

This scan found 12 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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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

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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
70
Email security
82
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
71

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

Gusto operates in the competitive payroll and HR SaaS market, targeting SMBs that require streamlined employee management solutions. Its competitive advantages include a user-friendly platform, comprehensive service offerings, and strong customer satisfaction ratings. The business model is subscription-based SaaS, generating revenue through service tiers and add-ons such as benefits and insurance. The company’s growth is supported by a robust partnership ecosystem and a strong brand presence in the US market. Gusto’s operations reflect a focus on compliance, ease of use, and integration capabilities, positioning it well against competitors. The absence of privacy protection in WHOIS and a long domain age support its legitimacy and market stability.

Security posture

Gusto demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and certifications like SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. The website uses secure forms with CSRF tokens and does not expose sensitive data in its HTML content. Analytics and tracking are extensive but managed with user consent via OneTrust. The lack of a published security policy or incident response page is a gap that could impact transparency and user trust. No vulnerabilities or suspicious patterns were detected in the publicly accessible content. Overall, the security maturity is high, but formalizing security disclosures and incident handling would enhance readiness and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and controls.
  3. Create and maintain an incident response page with contact channels for reporting issues.
  4. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program and publish a security.txt file.
  5. Provide clear Data Protection Officer contact information to comply with GDPR and related regulations.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Gusto, Inc.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Gusto
Description
Gusto’s people platform helps growing businesses onboard, pay, insure, and support their hardworking teams with payroll, benefits, and more. Try our free demo today.
Key services
Payroll processing, Employee onboarding, Benefits administration, Insurance management, HR support
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Next.js, React, Cloudflare DNS, OneTrust (cookie consent), Google Identity Services, Snowplow Analytics, FullStory, Tealium
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Snowplow, FullStory, Tealium
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
FullStory, Snowplow, Tealium
Marketing tools
Google Identity Services, OneTrust
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and fully accessible.
  2. Strong focus on payroll and HR services for SMBs.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  5. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and security headers.
  6. No signs of suspicious or malicious activity.
  7. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React-based framework (Next.js) with server-side rendering capabilities, ensuring fast load times and SEO friendliness. Hosting and DNS are managed via Cloudflare, providing CDN and security benefits. The site uses advanced analytics and marketing tools integrated with consent management to balance tracking and privacy. Accessibility and mobile responsiveness are well implemented, reflecting good technical standards. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected. The technical infrastructure supports scalability and performance but could benefit from DNSSEC activation and enhanced security documentation.
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. 80/100Low20 findingsView report
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