Skip to main content

Security report for helpscout.net

Help Scout · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Help Scout is a technology company specializing in customer support software, offering a shared inbox, help center, and live chat solutions to businesses. Positioned as a reliable SaaS provider, it targets customer support teams seeking efficient communication tools. The website reflects a mature digital presence with modern technologies such as Gatsby, React, and HubSpot CMS, ensuring fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and security headers, though explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly available. The absence of WHOIS data is a notable anomaly but does not detract from the overall legitimacy of the business. Strategic recommendations include publishing detailed security policies and vulnerability disclosure information to enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of helpscout.net. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 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

4 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 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';…

  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

  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.net

This scan found 23 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

€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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
72
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
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

Help Scout operates in the competitive customer support software market, leveraging a SaaS business model. Its key services include shared inboxes, help centers, and live chat software, catering primarily to medium-sized businesses and customer support teams. The company maintains a consistent brand image and professional website content, supported by customer testimonials and clear contact information. Marketing efforts utilize HubSpot and Wistia for analytics and video hosting, indicating a sophisticated marketing ecosystem. The company appears to be independent with no publicly listed parent or subsidiaries. Growth indicators include a well-structured website and active social media presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security posture with HTTPS enabled and multiple security headers such as Content Security Policy and Strict-Transport-Security. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. However, the lack of a dedicated security policy page and incident response contact information suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. Compliance with GDPR is indicated by the presence of comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. The security score is high but could be improved by adding explicit security governance documentation and vulnerability disclosure channels.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and compliance.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Provide clear incident response contact information for security issues.
  4. Enhance transparency around data retention and privacy compliance details.
  5. Regularly audit WHOIS registration data to ensure domain legitimacy and update as needed.

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's shared inbox, help center, and live chat software gives your team the tools you need to easily manage customer communications.
Key services
Shared Inbox, Help Center, Live Chat Software
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Gatsby, React, HubSpot, Wistia
Frameworks
React, Gatsby
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure cookies
  • Content Security Policy implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
HubSpot Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
HubSpot Ads
Tracking pixels
HubSpot Analytics, Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
HubSpot Marketing, Wistia Video Hosting
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 rich content and no blocking detected.
  2. Professional SaaS company focused on customer support tools.
  3. Strong use of modern web technologies and marketing tools.
  4. Good privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response contacts found.
  6. WHOIS data missing, which is a potential risk factor but not definitive.
  7. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  8. No adult or NSFW content present.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack including Gatsby and React, providing fast loading times and excellent mobile responsiveness. HubSpot CMS is used for content management and marketing automation, integrated with Wistia for video content delivery. The site employs multiple tracking and analytics tools, including HubSpot Analytics and Facebook Pixel, with appropriate cookie consent mechanisms. Accessibility and SEO optimizations are well implemented, contributing to a positive user experience. No technical debt or outdated libraries were detected, indicating good maintenance and modernization practices.
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. 44/100High18 findings · partial scanView report
  2. 68/100 +2Medium32 findingsView report
  3. 66/100Medium28 findingsView report
Reviews of this site

Share your experience with helpscout.net. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review helpscout.net.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.