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Security report for helpscout.com

Help Scout · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Help Scout is a well-established technology company specializing in customer support software solutions, including shared inboxes, help centers, and live chat tools. The company targets businesses seeking efficient customer communication management and operates primarily on a SaaS business model. With a strong market position and certifications such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II, Help Scout demonstrates a commitment to security and compliance. The website reflects a mature digital infrastructure using modern technologies like React, Gatsby, and Contentful CMS, ensuring fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security best practices are evident through HTTPS enforcement, comprehensive security headers, and clear incident response contacts. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements, supporting user trust and regulatory compliance. Overall, the website presents a professional, trustworthy, and secure platform for its users.

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

6 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. 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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';…
  3. 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

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

Keep watching helpscout.com

This scan found 24 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
62
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
67

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 helpscout.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
194
Employees
0
Customers
155
Third parties
39
Weak passwords
27%

4 subdomains affected

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 helpscout.com.

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

Help Scout's market positioning as a customer support software provider is reinforced by its clear value proposition and strong brand presence. The company leverages a SaaS model, generating revenue through subscriptions to its software services. Its target customers are businesses of various sizes seeking to improve customer communication workflows. The company maintains a partnership ecosystem including integrations with platforms like HubSpot. Growth indicators include a well-maintained website with rich content, testimonials, and certifications that enhance credibility. The absence of parent or subsidiary companies suggests a focused operational structure. Strategic observations highlight the company's emphasis on security and privacy as competitive advantages in the technology sector.

Security posture

Help Scout exhibits a mature security posture with multiple layers of protection. The use of HTTPS, security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security, and secure form implementations reduce attack surfaces. The company holds recognized certifications (ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II), indicating adherence to industry standards. Incident response procedures and dedicated security contact emails are publicly available, demonstrating preparedness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. Compliance with GDPR and cookie consent mechanisms further strengthen data protection practices. Overall, Help Scout maintains a robust security culture aligned with business needs.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosures and improve transparency.
  2. Maintain regular updates and patching of all third-party libraries and dependencies to mitigate emerging threats.
  3. Enhance accessibility features to ensure compliance with WCAG standards and improve user inclusivity.
  4. Provide more detailed data retention policies and communicate them clearly to users.
  5. Conduct periodic security audits and penetration testing to proactively identify and remediate risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Help Scout, Inc.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Help Scout
Description
Help Scout provides shared inbox, help center, and live chat software to help teams manage customer communications efficiently.
Key services
Shared Inbox, Help Center, Live Chat
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Gatsby, HubSpot Forms, Wistia Video, Contentful CMS, Imgix
Frameworks
Gatsby
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • Secure forms with validation
  • Privacy and security policies publicly available
  • Incident response contacts provided

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, HubSpot Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
HubSpot
Marketing tools
HubSpot, Wistia
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is rich, professional, and well-structured.
  3. Strong security posture with modern best practices.
  4. Clear privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  5. Multiple contact methods including forms, emails, and phone numbers.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and CMS.
  7. Good SEO and accessibility features.
  8. No suspicious or malicious indicators found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website infrastructure is built on a modern tech stack including React and Gatsby, supported by Contentful CMS for content management and Imgix for image optimization. HubSpot forms are integrated for lead capture and user interaction. The site demonstrates fast loading times and excellent mobile responsiveness, indicating good performance optimization. SEO best practices are implemented via meta tags and Open Graph data. Hosting appears to be on a reliable cloud provider, though not explicitly stated. Technical risks are minimal, with no outdated or vulnerable libraries detected. Opportunities exist to further modernize accessibility and enhance transparency around data handling.
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. 67/100Medium29 findingsView report
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