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Security report for numfocus.org

NumFOCUS · Non-profit · N/a

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

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

NumFOCUS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting open source software for scientific computing and research. The organization provides fiscal sponsorship, educational programs such as PyData and Google Summer of Code, and fosters community engagement with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Their market position is well established within the open science and research communities, targeting researchers, data scientists, and open source contributors. The website reflects a mature digital presence with professional design, clear navigation, and comprehensive content aligned with their mission. Technically, the site is built on WordPress using the Divi theme, incorporating modern web technologies including jQuery, Google Fonts, and DataTables. The presence of HubSpot analytics and AddToAny sharing tools indicates a moderate level of marketing and user engagement tracking. Performance and mobile optimization are good, though accessibility features are basic. SEO is well implemented with structured data and meta tags. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses domain transfer protection. However, DNSSEC is not enabled and no advanced security headers were detected. Cookie consent mechanisms are in place, supporting GDPR compliance. There is no visible vulnerability disclosure or incident response contact information, which could be improved. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced security headers and transparency. The domain registration is consistent and long-standing, supporting the legitimacy of the organization. No WAF or blocking mechanisms interfere with content access. The overall risk is low, with recommendations focusing on improving DNS security, security headers, and incident response transparency to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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

  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 numfocus.org

This scan found 28 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

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
62
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
63

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 numfocus.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
4
Employees
0
Customers
3
Third parties
1
Weak passwords
0%

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 numfocus.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

NumFOCUS operates as a nonprofit entity in the open source scientific software sector, leveraging fiscal sponsorship and educational initiatives to support its community. Their business model centers on enabling open science through project sponsorship and community programs, targeting academic and research professionals. The organization maintains a strong brand with consistent messaging and trust signals such as public financial documents and a code of conduct. Their partnership ecosystem includes affiliated projects and community events, though no explicit commercial partnerships were identified. Growth indicators include active program offerings and a dedicated jobs board subdomain. The organization's operations reflect a focus on sustainability and community impact rather than commercial revenue generation.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to strong security posture with mandatory HTTPS and domain transfer lock enabled. Cookie consent is implemented, indicating awareness of privacy regulations. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. No explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided, which limits transparency in security management. The use of third-party scripts like HubSpot and AddToAny introduces potential risk vectors that require ongoing monitoring. Overall, the security maturity is adequate for a nonprofit but could be enhanced by adopting additional best practices and publishing security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  4. Provide explicit incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
NumFOCUS
Description
NumFOCUS promotes open practices in research, data, and scientific computing. They run educational programs and fiscal sponsorship of open source projects.
Key services
Fiscal sponsorship of open source projects, Educational programs (e.g., PyData, Google Summer of Code), Community building and diversity & inclusion initiatives
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Divi Theme, jQuery, Google Fonts, DataTables, HubSpot scripts, AddToAny sharing plugin, Email Encoder Bundle
Frameworks
WordPress CMS, Divi Theme Framework
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Cookie consent banner implemented
  • External links open in new windows with noopener

Analytics and tracking

Services
HubSpot Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
HubSpot Analytics, Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
HubSpot, AddToAny
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally maintained nonprofit site supporting open source scientific software
  2. Good use of structured data and SEO metadata
  3. Cookie consent and privacy policy are implemented and accessible
  4. No explicit phone numbers or email addresses publicly listed; contact likely via forms
  5. No visible security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page
  6. No security headers detected in provided data
  7. Use of multiple third-party scripts including HubSpot and AddToAny
  8. Domain registration is stable and consistent with business claims
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using the Divi theme, a popular and flexible framework. It incorporates modern web technologies such as jQuery, Google Fonts, and DataTables for enhanced UI components. Marketing and analytics are supported by HubSpot and AddToAny plugins. The site is mobile responsive with good SEO practices including structured data and Open Graph metadata. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by multiple external scripts and plugins. There is room for technical modernization by optimizing script loading and enhancing accessibility features. Hosting appears stable with domain registration through NameCheap, but DNSSEC is not enabled, representing a technical risk. Overall, the infrastructure supports the organization's needs but could benefit from security and performance optimizations.
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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