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Security report for letsencrypt.org

Internet Security Research Group · Technology · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

83/100

Risk levelLow

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

Let's Encrypt is a nonprofit Certificate Authority operated by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG), providing free and automated TLS certificates to over 600 million websites globally. The organization is well-established since 2014 and enjoys strong support from major technology sponsors such as Google, AWS, Mozilla, and Cisco. Their mission focuses on improving Internet security and privacy by enabling widespread HTTPS adoption. Technically, the website is built using the Hugo static site generator, employs modern JavaScript libraries like Plotly.js for data visualization, and is hosted with Cloudflare DNS and registrar services. The site demonstrates excellent performance, mobile optimization, and accessibility, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. From a security perspective, the domain registration is consistent and transparent, with domain status flags preventing unauthorized changes. HTTPS is enforced, and no critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and explicit security policies or incident response information are not publicly visible, representing areas for improvement. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and compliant with privacy regulations, including GDPR. The absence of cookie consent mechanisms suggests minimal tracking, aligning with nonprofit values. The site is safe for general audiences and maintains a high standard of content quality and user experience.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of letsencrypt.org. View the latest report

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

3 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. 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

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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
75
Security headers
95
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
83

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

Let's Encrypt holds a leading position in the free Certificate Authority market, disrupting traditional paid certificate models by offering automated, no-cost TLS certificates. Their nonprofit business model is sustained through sponsorships and donations from major industry players, ensuring financial stability and community trust. The target audience includes website owners, developers, and organizations seeking to secure their web presence easily and affordably. The organization publishes annual reports and maintains an active community forum, fostering transparency and engagement. Partnerships with sibling projects like Prossimo and Divvi Up indicate a broader commitment to Internet security and privacy innovation.

Security posture

The security posture of Let's Encrypt is strong, with domain registration protections and enforced HTTPS. No critical security headers were explicitly detected in the HTML content, suggesting potential for enhancement. The lack of a public security policy or incident response page limits transparency in handling security incidents. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found, and the organization appears to follow best practices in certificate issuance and management. GDPR compliance is evident through privacy policies and data handling transparency. Overall, the security maturity is high but could benefit from more visible security governance documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and trust.
  3. Implement and visibly advertise security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options.
  4. Consider adding a cookie consent mechanism if any tracking or cookies are used in the future.
  5. Enhance contact information availability by providing direct company emails or phone numbers for support and security contacts.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Internet Security Research Group
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Internet Security Research Group
Description
Let's Encrypt is a nonprofit Certificate Authority providing free, automated TLS certificates to enable HTTPS encryption for websites worldwide.
Key services
Free TLS/SSL certificate issuance, Automated certificate management via ACME protocol, Community support and documentation
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Hugo static site generator, FontAwesome icons, Plotly.js for charts, JavaScript for UI interactions
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by domain and service nature)
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

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 mechanisms.
  2. Strong nonprofit branding and clear mission statement.
  3. Extensive sponsor and partner ecosystem displayed.
  4. No cookie consent banner detected, possibly due to minimal tracking.
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response page found.
  6. No visible phone numbers or emails directly on homepage; contact via forms and addresses.
  7. Modern, responsive design with good accessibility features.
Technical notes

Notes

The website leverages a modern static site generator (Hugo) ensuring fast load times and reliability. Use of Plotly.js enables rich interactive data visualizations, enhancing user engagement. Hosting and DNS services are provided by Cloudflare, a reputable provider offering performance and security benefits. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with clear navigation and consistent branding. No legacy or vulnerable libraries were detected. The technical implementation reflects a well-maintained and modern web presence suitable for a global nonprofit organization.
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. 83/100Low21 findingsView report
  2. 83/100Low21 findingsView report
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