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Security report for regulations.gov

Government · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Regulations.gov is an official U.S. government website that serves as a centralized platform for accessing federal regulations and submitting public comments. It is positioned as a key government service facilitating transparency and public participation in regulatory processes. The site leverages modern web technologies such as Ember.js and integrates government analytics tools to monitor usage. However, the provided HTML snapshot is minimal, reflecting a single-page application structure with dynamic content loading. Security posture is generally good with HTTPS enforced and use of Google reCAPTCHA, but lacks visible security headers and explicit privacy or cookie policies. WHOIS data is incomplete, but the .gov domain strongly supports legitimacy. Overall, the site is safe, professional, and trustworthy, though improvements in privacy compliance and security headers are recommended.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of regulations.gov. View the latest report

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

6 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 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching regulations.gov

This scan found 17 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
100
Security headers
70
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
73

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 website operates within the government sector, providing essential regulatory information and public engagement tools. Its business model is service-oriented, funded and managed by the U.S. General Services Administration. The target audience includes the general public, policy makers, and stakeholders interested in federal regulations. The site maintains a strong market position as the official federal regulatory portal. While the technical infrastructure is modern, there is room for enhancement in accessibility, SEO, and privacy transparency. The absence of detailed WHOIS data is typical for government domains but should be monitored for consistency. No partnerships or subsidiaries were identified from the provided data.

Security posture

The security posture is moderate to good. HTTPS is properly implemented, and Google reCAPTCHA is used to mitigate automated abuse. However, the absence of common security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the provided content. The site lacks published security policies or incident response contacts, which are recommended for transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is minimal with no visible cookie consent mechanisms or privacy policy links. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from enhanced security controls and compliance documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance and user consent mechanisms.
  3. Add visible contact information including security incident response and vulnerability disclosure channels.
  4. Improve accessibility and SEO features to enhance user experience and discoverability.
  5. Regularly audit WHOIS data and domain registration details to ensure consistency and transparency.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Description
Regulations.gov is a U.S. government website that provides a platform for the public to find, review, and submit comments on federal regulations and related documents.
Key services
Access to federal regulations, Public commenting on regulations, Search and browse regulatory documents
Content quality
basic
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Ember.js, Google Analytics, DigitalGov Analytics, Google reCAPTCHA
Frameworks
Ember.js
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA for bot prevention

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, DigitalGov Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
DigitalGov Analytics
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is an official U.S. government regulatory information portal.
  2. Content is minimal in the provided HTML snapshot but consistent with a SPA Ember.js application.
  3. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found in the provided content.
  4. No contact information or forms detected in the provided HTML snapshot.
  5. Uses Google Analytics and DigitalGov analytics scripts for tracking.
  6. No security headers detected in the provided data; HTTPS is enabled.
  7. No WHOIS registrar or creation data available; only last update timestamp present.
  8. No signs of WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
  9. No adult or explicit content detected; content is safe for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses Ember.js as its primary front-end framework, indicating a modern single-page application architecture. It integrates Google Analytics and DigitalGov analytics for user tracking and performance monitoring. Google reCAPTCHA is implemented for bot mitigation. The site loads multiple JavaScript chunks and stylesheets, suggesting modular code splitting. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, especially in mobile responsiveness and accessibility. No CMS or hosting provider details were identified from the HTML snapshot. The lack of security headers and privacy policy pages indicates areas for technical improvement to meet best practices and compliance standards.
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. 73/100 +17Medium26 findingsView report
  2. 56/100 −23Medium26 findingsView report
  3. 79/100Low20 findingsView report
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