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Security report for nczoo.org

North Carolina Zoo · Non-profit · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

77/100

Risk levelLow

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

The North Carolina Zoo is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to wildlife conservation, education, and public engagement. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content about zoo visits, educational programs, conservation efforts, and community involvement. It targets families, educators, and conservation supporters, positioning itself as a leading natural habitat zoo with over 50 years of history and AZA accreditation. Technically, the site is built on Drupal CMS and integrates modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager, reCAPTCHA, and various tracking and marketing tools. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and performs moderately well, with good SEO and user experience design. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced, security headers present, and secure form handling. Privacy compliance is robust with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. However, explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not published, representing an area for improvement. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional, with no critical vulnerabilities detected. The domain WHOIS data is privacy protected, which is justified for this type of organization. Strategic recommendations include publishing security policies, vulnerability disclosure information, and enhancing transparency around data protection contacts.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

3 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. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • 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 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 nczoo.org

This scan found 20 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

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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
62
Security headers
50
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
77

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

The North Carolina Zoo operates as a large non-profit entity focused on conservation and education. Its market position is strong as the world's largest natural habitat zoo, supported by key partnerships and accreditations. Revenue streams likely include ticket sales, memberships, donations, events, and volunteer programs. The target customer segments are families, educators, conservationists, and local communities. The organization demonstrates growth through active social media engagement and diverse program offerings. The partnership ecosystem includes reputable conservation and cultural organizations, enhancing credibility and outreach.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS, security headers, and secure form implementations including reCAPTCHA. Cookie consent and privacy policies align with GDPR requirements. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response information, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates room for improvement in transparency and readiness. The organization should consider publishing these details to enhance trust and preparedness for security incidents.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to inform users and stakeholders.
  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 improve transparency.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and tracking tools to minimize security risks.
  5. Enhance user privacy controls and provide detailed data retention policies to strengthen GDPR compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
North Carolina Zoo
Description
The North Carolina Zoo protects wildlife and wild places and inspires people to join in conserving the natural world. It is a large natural habitat zoo offering attractions, habitats, educational programs, events, and conservation efforts.
Key services
Zoo visits and tickets, Educational programs and camps, Wildlife conservation, Events and birthday parties, Volunteer opportunities
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal CMS, Google Tag Manager, reCAPTCHA, CookiesJSR, Swiper.js, Pinterest tracking, AdRoll, Lucky Orange, Constant Contact
Frameworks
Drupal
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of reCAPTCHA on forms
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager, Lucky Orange
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
AdRoll
Tracking pixels
Pinterest, AdRoll, Lucky Orange
Marketing tools
Constant Contact
Transparency
good

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. Content is rich, relevant, and targeted to families and conservation supporters.
  3. Strong social media presence and engagement.
  4. Good privacy and cookie compliance with consent mechanisms.
  5. No visible security or privacy red flags.
  6. WHOIS data is privacy protected or unavailable, but no suspicious indicators found.
  7. Multiple trusted partnerships and certifications enhance credibility.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal CMS with a modern tech stack including Google Tag Manager, reCAPTCHA, and various marketing and analytics tools. It uses Swiper.js for interactive elements and integrates social media feeds. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. The site uses CDN resources for fonts and scripts, improving load times. Technical debt appears low, but continuous monitoring of third-party dependencies is recommended to mitigate risks. Overall, the infrastructure supports a professional and user-friendly experience aligned with the organization's mission.
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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