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Security report for msc.org

Sustainable Fishing | MSC · Non-profit · N/a

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

83/100

Risk levelLow

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

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) operates as a globally recognized non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable fishing practices through certification and ecolabeling. Their website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content targeting consumers, fisheries, businesses, and educators interested in ocean sustainability. The MSC brand is consistently presented with clear messaging about their mission and impact, supported by multilingual support and extensive resources. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies including Sitefinity CMS, Google Tag Manager, and OneTrust for consent management, ensuring a responsive and accessible user experience. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and security headers, though explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear cookie consent mechanisms and GDPR considerations. The absence of WHOIS data limits domain registration insights, but the overall trustworthiness and legitimacy of the MSC brand and website are high. Strategic recommendations include publishing explicit security and incident response policies, adding vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, and enhancing direct contact information visibility to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
100/ 100 · Low
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

2 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 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. 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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  • 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
75
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
100
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

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 msc.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
45
Employees
2
Customers
10
Third parties
33
Weak passwords
2%

Latest record dated 2026-05-24 · 5 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 msc.org.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –sts.msc.org2026-05-24
  • –sts.msc.org2026-05-24

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

MSC holds a leading position in the sustainable seafood certification market, leveraging partnerships with organizations like ASC and maintaining a global footprint with localized sites. Their business model focuses on non-profit certification services, educational outreach, and collaborative improvement programs. Revenue streams likely include certification fees and donations, supported by a strong brand recognized by consumers and industry stakeholders. The website's multilingual support and extensive resource offerings indicate a broad target audience spanning consumers, fisheries, supply chain businesses, and educators. The partnership ecosystem includes certification bodies and sustainability organizations, enhancing MSC's market influence and credibility. Growth indicators include active improvement programs and funded projects. Operationally, MSC demonstrates a mature digital strategy with integrated analytics and consent management, supporting data-driven decision-making and compliance.

Security posture

The MSC website demonstrates a solid security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers including CSP, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. The use of OneTrust for cookie consent indicates attention to privacy compliance. However, the absence of publicly available security policies, incident response plans, and vulnerability disclosure channels represents a gap in transparency and readiness communication. No known vulnerabilities or outdated libraries were detected in the provided content. The security score is strong but could be improved by publishing explicit security documentation and providing direct security contact channels. Overall, MSC shows good security hygiene appropriate for a non-profit organization handling certification and consumer trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Provide clear contact information for the Data Protection Officer or security team to enhance trust and compliance.
  4. Enhance visibility of official company phone numbers and emails for direct communication.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Registration number
3322023
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Sustainable Fishing | MSC
Description
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable fishing practices and protecting ocean ecosystems through certification and ecolabeling.
Key services
Fisheries certification, Supply chain certification, Consumer education, Improvement programs
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, OneTrust Consent Management, Sitefinity CMS, jQuery, FontAwesome
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of CSP
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
OneTrust Consent Management
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 multiple language options.
  2. Strong focus on sustainability and certification standards.
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent and privacy mechanisms implemented.
  4. No visible security or WAF blocking issues.
  5. WHOIS data is unavailable or malformed, limiting domain registration insights.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and CMS (Sitefinity).
  7. Social media presence is consistent with official MSC branding.
  8. No direct company phone numbers or emails explicitly found in the HTML content.
  9. Multiple external links to partner and certification related domains.
Technical notes

Notes

The MSC website is built on the Sitefinity CMS platform, utilizing Bootstrap for responsive design and FontAwesome for icons. It integrates Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics for tracking and data collection, alongside OneTrust for GDPR-compliant cookie consent management. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and accessibility features, with valid meta tags and SEO-friendly structure. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by the use of multiple external scripts and consent management overhead. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, supporting a professional and user-friendly experience. Opportunities exist to optimize loading times and further enhance accessibility compliance.
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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