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Security report for recherchesp.ca

Société canadienne de la sclérose en plaques · Healthcare · Canada

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The website 'Portail sur la recherche en SP' is a French-language portal managed by the Canadian Multiple Sclerosis Society (Société canadienne de la sclérose en plaques). It serves as an information and recruitment platform for multiple sclerosis research studies and clinical trials conducted in Canada. The portal targets researchers seeking participants and individuals interested in participating in MS research. The business operates as a non-profit organization with a clear focus on healthcare research facilitation within Canada. The website content is professionally presented with consistent branding and clear contact information, supporting its credibility and trustworthiness. Technically, the site uses a traditional web stack including HTML, CSS, JavaScript with jQuery and jQuery UI libraries, and Google Analytics for user tracking. Hosting is provided via Linode, indicated by the domain's nameservers. The site demonstrates moderate performance and basic mobile optimization but lacks advanced CMS or modern frameworks. SEO and accessibility features are basic but functional. From a security perspective, the site uses domain status protections and HTTPS for analytics scripts but lacks DNSSEC and visible security headers such as CSP or HSTS. There is no cookie consent mechanism or explicit security policy disclosed, which presents compliance gaps. The WHOIS data shows a long-standing domain with privacy protection justified for a non-profit. Overall, the security posture is moderate with room for improvement in headers and privacy compliance. The overall risk assessment is low to moderate, with no critical vulnerabilities detected. Strategic recommendations include implementing security headers, enabling DNSSEC, adding cookie consent, and publishing security and incident response policies to enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. 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';…

  3. 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

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching recherchesp.ca

This scan found 23 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

€25per month

  • 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
85
Security headers
60
Email security
40
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
65

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 portal occupies a niche position within the Canadian healthcare non-profit sector, specifically focusing on multiple sclerosis research facilitation. Its competitive advantage lies in its official backing by the Canadian MS Society, providing legitimacy and access to funded research studies. The business model is informational and service-oriented, connecting researchers and participants without commercial advertising. Revenue streams likely derive from the parent non-profit's funding and donations, as indicated by donation links. The target customer segments include researchers, patients, and the general public interested in MS research. Growth indicators include the domain's longevity and integration with partner sites. The partnership ecosystem includes the main Canadian MS Society website and MS research organizations. Operationally, the portal is stable but could benefit from modernization and enhanced compliance to maintain its market position.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. It benefits from domain registration protections and uses HTTPS for external analytics scripts, but lacks DNSSEC and critical security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of a cookie consent mechanism and security policies indicates compliance gaps, particularly with GDPR and similar regulations. Incident response readiness is not evident, with no dedicated contacts or disclosures. The security culture appears basic, with reliance on standard protections but limited proactive measures. Enhancing security headers, privacy compliance, and incident response documentation would significantly improve the security posture and reduce risk.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Add a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR.
  4. Publish explicit security policies and incident response contacts to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Regularly update JavaScript libraries and audit third-party scripts to mitigate vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Société canadienne de la SP
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Société canadienne de la sclérose en plaques
Description
Portail dédié à la recherche sur la sclérose en plaques au Canada, géré par la Société canadienne de la sclérose en plaques. Le site vise à faire connaître les études et essais cliniques financés par la Société ou d'autres organismes subventionnaires, en excluant les études à but lucratif.
Key services
Information portal for MS research studies, Participant recruitment for clinical trials, Resources for researchers to list studies
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery 1.7.1, jQuery UI 1.8, Google Analytics
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
60/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of clientTransferProhibited and clientUpdateProhibited domain statuses
  • No DNSSEC enabled (potential improvement area)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of HTTPS for analytics scripts

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is in French with some English navigation option.
  3. No cookie consent banner or explicit cookie policy found.
  4. WHOIS data shows domain is registered since 2012 with privacy protection.
  5. Website uses Google Analytics for tracking with event tracking on outbound links.
  6. No social media links detected in the HTML content.
  7. Contact information is clearly provided in footer including email, phone, and physical address.
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy found.
  9. No explicit security policies or incident response contacts found on site.
  10. Website is a non-profit healthcare research portal focused on multiple sclerosis in Canada.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a classic web stack with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using older versions of jQuery and jQuery UI. It lacks a modern CMS or framework, which may limit scalability and maintainability. Hosting is via Linode, a reputable provider, suggesting reliable infrastructure. Performance is moderate with no explicit optimization for mobile beyond basic CSS. SEO and accessibility are basic but present. Technical debt is indicated by older libraries and absence of modern security headers. Opportunities exist to modernize the tech stack, improve mobile responsiveness, and enhance SEO and accessibility compliance. Technical risks include potential vulnerabilities from outdated libraries and lack of security headers, which could impact business operations if exploited.
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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