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Security report for openstreetmap.org

OpenStreetMap Foundation · Transportation · N/a

Low risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

76/100

Risk levelLow

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

OpenStreetMap is a globally recognized open source mapping platform that provides free and editable map data created by a community of contributors. The website serves a broad audience including map users, developers, and contributors, positioning itself as a leading provider of open map data and routing services. The platform is supported by corporate members and partners, with hosting provided by Fastly, indicating a robust infrastructure. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies such as JavaScript, Leaflet.js for map rendering, and Turbo for dynamic content updates, ensuring a fast and responsive user experience across devices. Security measures include HTTPS enforcement, CSRF protection, and use of Content Security Policy nonces, reflecting a strong security posture. However, some standard security headers are missing, and there is no visible cookie consent mechanism, which may impact privacy compliance. The WHOIS data is unavailable due to privacy protection or registry restrictions, but the website's content and external references strongly indicate legitimacy. Overall, the site is professional, secure, and trustworthy, with recommendations to enhance privacy compliance and security header implementation.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
50/ 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

4 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 Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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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Keep watching openstreetmap.org

This scan found 16 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
75
Security headers
80
Email security
73
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
Average
76

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

OpenStreetMap operates as a non-profit, community-driven entity focused on providing open map data and related services. Its business model relies on community contributions, corporate sponsorships, and partnerships rather than direct monetization. The platform's competitive advantage lies in its open license and extensive global contributor base, enabling rapid and detailed map updates. Target customers include developers, researchers, and general users requiring free map data and routing. Growth is supported by active community engagement and corporate backing. The partnership ecosystem includes hosting providers like Fastly and corporate members of the OpenStreetMap Foundation. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining open data principles while enhancing privacy and security compliance to sustain trust and growth.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced site-wide, CSRF tokens embedded in forms, and use of Content Security Policy nonces to mitigate script injection risks. However, the absence of several common security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options suggests room for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. Privacy compliance is partial, lacking explicit cookie consent mechanisms and detailed privacy policy disclosures. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure information are not publicly available, which could hinder timely security communications. Overall, the security culture appears strong but would benefit from formalizing policies and enhancing header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Strict-Transport-Security, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to strengthen browser security.
  2. Add a visible cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to improve GDPR and privacy compliance.
  3. Publish an explicit incident response and vulnerability disclosure policy, including a security.txt file, to facilitate responsible reporting and response.
  4. Enhance privacy policy details to clearly state data collection, retention, and user rights to build user trust.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and analytics tools to ensure minimal user tracking and compliance with privacy standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
OpenStreetMap Foundation
Description
OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.
Key services
Map data provision, Map editing tools, Routing and directions services
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Leaflet.js, Turbo (Hotwire), Bootstrap (CSS framework)
Frameworks
Turbo (Hotwire)
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • CSRF tokens present
  • Content Security Policy nonce used
  • Secure form inputs

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Transparency
basic

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 interactive map features.
  2. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main page.
  3. Strong community and open source branding.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners detected.
  5. WHOIS data is unavailable, indicating privacy protection or registry limitations.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and good security practices observed.
  7. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern and efficient technology stack, leveraging JavaScript frameworks and libraries such as Leaflet.js for interactive maps and Turbo for dynamic page updates. The use of Fastly as a CDN and hosting provider contributes to fast load times and reliable performance. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with semantic HTML and responsive design. SEO best practices are followed with proper meta tags and Open Graph data for social sharing. Technical risks are minimal, but the lack of some security headers and privacy mechanisms represent areas for technical enhancement. Overall, the infrastructure supports a high-quality user experience with scalable and maintainable architecture.
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. 76/100Low25 findingsView report
  2. 76/100 −1Low25 findingsView report
  3. 77/100Low21 findingsView report
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