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Security report for iisd.org

International Institute for Sustainable Development · Non-profit · N/a

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) operates as an independent, award-winning think tank dedicated to advancing sustainable development globally. The organization focuses on research, policy analysis, and advocacy to promote environmental and social well-being. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image, targeting policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in sustainability. Technically, the site is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern analytics and tracking tools such as Microsoft Clarity, Google Tag Manager, and Hotjar, indicating a mature digital infrastructure. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced, though the absence of visible security headers suggests room for improvement. The lack of WHOIS transparency is typical for non-profit entities and does not detract significantly from trustworthiness. Overall, the site presents a credible and authoritative presence in its sector.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

5 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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

    • 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

  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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching iisd.org

This scan found 22 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
65
Security headers
35
Email security
80
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
70

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 iisd.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
32
Employees
0
Customers
27
Third parties
5
Weak passwords
13%

1 subdomain 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 iisd.org.

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

IISD positions itself as a key player in the non-profit sustainable development sector, offering research and policy services that influence global environmental and social agendas. Its business model centers on knowledge dissemination and advocacy rather than commercial transactions. The organization likely relies on grants, donations, and partnerships. The website's content and structure support engagement with a specialized audience, including governments and NGOs. The use of advanced analytics tools suggests a focus on understanding visitor behavior and improving outreach. No direct commercial or affiliate relationships were detected, consistent with a non-profit mission.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS enabled, ensuring encrypted communications. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options in the provided data indicates potential gaps in defense-in-depth strategies. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were identified in the analyzed content. The use of reputable third-party analytics and tracking services is noted, but privacy compliance mechanisms like cookie consent banners or detailed privacy policies were not evident, which could pose compliance risks under regulations like GDPR. Incident response and security policy information are not publicly available, suggesting an opportunity to enhance transparency and trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and configure standard security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) to strengthen site security.
  2. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance statements and consent mechanisms.
  3. Enhance WHOIS transparency if possible, or provide clear organizational information on the website to compensate for privacy-protected domain registration.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to ensure they do not introduce vulnerabilities or privacy risks.
  5. Develop and publicize an incident response plan and security policy to improve stakeholder confidence and compliance posture.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
International Institute for Sustainable Development
Description
IISD is an award-winning independent think tank working to create a world where people and the planet thrive.
Key services
Sustainable development research, Policy analysis, Environmental advocacy, Knowledge dissemination
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, FontAwesome 6 Pro
Frameworks
Drupal
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of modern CMS with security updates

Analytics and tracking

Services
Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics (via GTM), Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics (via GTM), Hotjar
Marketing tools
Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. WHOIS data is unavailable due to privacy or query failure.
  3. Website uses modern technologies and tracking tools.
  4. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in provided HTML snippet.
  5. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies explicitly detected in the provided content.
  6. Content is focused on sustainable development and non-profit research.
  7. No security headers explicitly detected in the provided data; recommend adding standard security headers.
  8. Website is mobile optimized and uses responsive design.
  9. Tracking and analytics tools are present but privacy compliance details are minimal.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10, a modern and widely supported CMS platform, indicating a commitment to up-to-date technology. Integration with Google Fonts and FontAwesome provides a rich visual experience. Analytics tools such as Microsoft Clarity, Google Tag Manager, and Hotjar are employed for user behavior tracking and performance monitoring. The site appears mobile-optimized with responsive design elements. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by the number of external scripts loaded. No explicit hosting provider information was found. Accessibility features are basic but present. SEO optimization is good with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Technical debt appears low, but security header implementation is recommended to reduce risk.
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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