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Security report for osm.org

OpenStreetMap Foundation · Technology · 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 contributed by a worldwide community. It operates under an open license and is supported by corporate members and donations, positioning itself as a leader in community-driven geospatial data. The website is professionally designed, mobile-optimized, and offers rich functionality including map editing, routing, and community engagement tools. Technically, it employs modern web technologies such as JavaScript, Leaflet.js, and Turbo (Hotwire), hosted on Fastly's infrastructure, ensuring fast performance and good accessibility. Security measures include HTTPS enforcement, CSRF protection, and use of Content Security Policy nonces, though some standard security headers could be improved. Privacy compliance is partially addressed with clear privacy and terms policies, but lacks a cookie consent mechanism. WHOIS data is unavailable due to privacy protection, which is justified for this type of community project. Overall, the site demonstrates a strong security posture, excellent content quality, and high business credibility.

Scanned

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 osm.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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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
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 project in the technology and transportation sectors, providing open geospatial data and mapping services. Its business model relies on community contributions, corporate sponsorships, and donations. The platform targets a broad audience including developers, researchers, and general map users. Its market position is strong as the leading open-source mapping project with a global footprint. The partnership ecosystem includes hosting providers like Fastly and corporate members supporting infrastructure. The absence of direct contact information on the main site aligns with its community-centric approach. Growth indicators include ongoing community events such as State of the Map conferences and continuous platform enhancements.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, CSRF tokens, and Content Security Policy nonces implemented. However, some common security headers like Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not explicitly detected, representing an area for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were identified in the HTML content. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contacts is a gap in transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is good but could be enhanced by implementing cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the security practices align well with the open and collaborative nature of the platform, balancing usability and protection.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a cookie consent banner to improve GDPR compliance and user privacy transparency.
  2. Add standard security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen security posture.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to enhance transparency and trust.
  4. Consider providing verified contact information for business or support inquiries to improve user confidence.
  5. Regularly review and update WHOIS information to improve domain registration transparency where possible.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
OpenStreetMap Foundation
Description
OpenStreetMap is a free wiki world map created by contributors worldwide and free to use under an open license.
Key services
Map data provision, Map editing tools, Routing and directions, Community engagement
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Leaflet.js, Turbo (Hotwire), Bootstrap, SVG
Frameworks
Turbo (Hotwire), Bootstrap
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
good

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 no blocking or WAF challenges
  2. Content is rich, relevant, and professionally presented
  3. Strong community and open-source ethos evident
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main page
  5. Privacy and terms policies are present and accessible
  6. No cookie consent mechanism detected, which may be a GDPR compliance gap
  7. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and CSRF protections
  8. WHOIS data is unavailable or privacy protected, common for open projects
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern and efficient tech stack including JavaScript frameworks like Leaflet.js for mapping and Turbo (Hotwire) for dynamic page updates. The use of SVG icons and Bootstrap CSS ensures responsive and accessible design. Hosting on Fastly's CDN contributes to fast load times and global availability. The site includes multiple map layers and routing options, indicating a complex and feature-rich infrastructure. No CMS is detected, suggesting a custom-built platform optimized for performance and scalability. Accessibility and SEO optimizations are well implemented, with proper meta tags and language support. Technical risks are minimal, but the absence of some security headers and cookie consent mechanisms represent areas for technical enhancement.
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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