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Security report for hss.edu

Hospital for Special Surgery · Healthcare · United States

High risk. 21 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 3 other checks.

Security score

35/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a leading healthcare institution specializing in orthopedics and rheumatology, recognized globally and ranked #1 in orthopedics for 15 years consecutively. The website serves patients, medical professionals, donors, and job seekers, offering comprehensive information about services, patient care, research, and education. The hospital operates multiple locations across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida, emphasizing patient-centric care with digital tools like the MyHSS portal for managing appointments and health records. The site reflects a strong market position with clear branding and trust indicators such as awards and patient testimonials. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including jQuery, Bootstrap, Font Awesome, and integrates advanced analytics tools like Piwik PRO, Freshpaint, and Azure Application Insights. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, providing a fast and professional user experience. However, there is room for improvement in cookie consent transparency and explicit security policy disclosures. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with good SSL configuration and secure form handling. While no critical vulnerabilities are evident, the absence of visible security headers and incident response information suggests opportunities to enhance security posture and compliance. Privacy compliance is moderate, with a comprehensive privacy policy but lacking a clear cookie consent mechanism. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professional, and well-aligned with the hospital's prestigious reputation. Strategic improvements in privacy transparency and security disclosures would further strengthen user trust and regulatory compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
33/ 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

21 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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  2. 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

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  3. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: Telnet

      Port 23 (Telnet) is publicly accessible - Telnet - Unencrypted remote access

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to Telnet using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: SMB

      Port 445 (SMB) is publicly accessible - SMB - Windows file sharing, high risk

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to SMB using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MSSQL

      Port 1433 (MSSQL) is publicly accessible - MSSQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MSSQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

Keep watching hss.edu

This scan found 33 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

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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
0
Security headers
15
Email security
75
DNS health
85
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
33
Average
35

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 · found on this site
  • 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

HSS holds a dominant position in the orthopedic healthcare market, leveraging its reputation as a top-ranked hospital to attract patients and professionals. Its business model integrates patient care, research, and education, supported by digital platforms like MyHSS for patient engagement. The hospital targets a broad audience including patients requiring specialized orthopedic and rheumatology care, medical professionals seeking collaboration, and donors. The presence of multiple awards and recognitions enhances competitive advantage. The website's integration with social media and external health news platforms indicates a robust partnership ecosystem and active community engagement. Growth indicators include digital appointment booking and patient story sharing, reflecting a focus on patient experience and outreach.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS and no visible exposure of sensitive data. Use of modern analytics and tracking is balanced with privacy considerations, though explicit cookie consent is missing. The lack of published security policies or incident response contacts limits transparency and may impact compliance with GDPR and other regulations. No vulnerable libraries or outdated technologies were detected. Security headers are not explicitly visible in the HTML content, suggesting potential enhancement areas. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from improved security communication and formal vulnerability disclosure mechanisms.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a visible cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations and improve user transparency.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy page and incident response contact information to enhance trust and compliance.
  3. Add standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  4. Create and publish a security.txt file or vulnerability disclosure policy to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance data protection officer contact visibility to align with GDPR and other data protection frameworks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Hospital for Special Surgery
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Hospital for Special Surgery
Description
HSS is the #1 hospital in the world and in the U.S. for orthopedics, ranked #3 in the U.S. for rheumatology, and is the best pediatric orthopedic hospital in NY, CT and NJ. HSS has locations in NY, NJ, CT, and FL.
Key services
Orthopedic surgery, Rheumatology, Pediatric orthopedics, Physical therapy, Patient care management via MyHSS portal
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.6.0, Bootstrap 5.3.3, Font Awesome 6.6.0, Azure Application Insights, Freshpaint analytics, Piwik PRO analytics, Swiftype search
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure form inputs with validation
  • Use of modern analytics with consent considerations

Analytics and tracking

Services
Piwik PRO, Freshpaint, Azure Application Insights, Siteimprove Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Piwik PRO, Freshpaint, Azure Application Insights, Siteimprove Analytics
Marketing tools
Swiftype search
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well maintained
  2. Strong brand presence with consistent messaging
  3. Comprehensive patient and professional resources
  4. Secure patient portal integration
  5. Use of multiple analytics and tracking tools without explicit cookie consent banner
  6. No visible security policy or incident response information publicly available
  7. No explicit cookie consent mechanism detected
  8. Contact information is clear but no direct company emails found in HTML
  9. Social media presence is strong and linked
  10. No suspicious or malicious content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a solid technical foundation using widely adopted libraries and frameworks such as jQuery and Bootstrap, ensuring responsiveness and accessibility. Integration with multiple analytics platforms provides comprehensive user behavior insights but requires careful privacy management. The site loads external resources from reputable CDNs and uses modern JavaScript modules. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Hosting details are not explicit but the use of Azure Application Insights indicates Microsoft Azure infrastructure involvement. Technical debt appears low, with opportunities for modernization in security headers and privacy mechanisms.
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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