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Security report for science.org

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) · Media · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Science.org is the official website of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), serving as a premier platform for peer-reviewed scientific journals, impactful research, daily news, expert commentary, and career resources. The site targets researchers, academics, policy makers, and science enthusiasts globally, positioning itself as a leading media entity in the scientific publishing industry. Its business model revolves around subscription, membership, and content dissemination to a large, professional audience. Technically, the website employs a modern technology stack including JavaScript frameworks, Adobe DTM, Google Tag Manager, and Cloudflare services, ensuring fast performance, mobile responsiveness, and good accessibility. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and implied security headers, though explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly disclosed. Privacy compliance is robust with clear cookie consent mechanisms and GDPR-aligned policies. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and content quality, supported by extensive analytics and advertising integrations typical for media organizations.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 100 · Low
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. 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

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

      What to do: Add SPF record: "v=spf1 include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com ~all"

  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 Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

  4. 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 science.org

This scan found 22 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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

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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
57
Security headers
65
Email security
40
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
69

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

Science.org operates within the media sector, focusing on scientific publishing and news dissemination. It holds a strong market position as a flagship platform of AAAS, offering multiple journals and related content. The business benefits from a loyal subscriber base and membership programs, with partnerships evident through related domains and promotional sites. The website's ecosystem includes advanced marketing and analytics tools, enabling targeted advertising and user engagement. Growth indicators include consistent content updates, trending scientific topics, and integration with social media channels. The absence of direct contact information on the homepage suggests a focus on digital engagement and self-service. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining privacy protections and enhancing transparency around security and incident response to further strengthen trust.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, use of security headers (implied), and no visible exposure of sensitive data. However, explicit security policies, vulnerability disclosure programs, and incident response contacts are not found, representing potential gaps in transparency and readiness. The presence of multiple third-party scripts and advertising networks introduces a moderate risk surface, mitigated by standard industry practices. Compliance with GDPR is evident through cookie consent and privacy policies. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by publishing detailed security and incident response information and conducting regular security audits.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page with clear contact information.
  2. Implement and disclose a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Enhance transparency around data retention and privacy practices to strengthen GDPR compliance.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and advertising partners to minimize security risks.
  5. Maintain and update security headers explicitly and monitor for emerging vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Description
Science/AAAS peer-reviewed journals deliver impactful research, daily news, expert commentary, and career resources.
Key services
Scientific journals publication, News and commentary on science, Career resources, Membership benefits
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, Google Tag Manager, Adobe DTM, OneSignal Web Push, Cloudflare Insights, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), Quantserve, Bing Ads, Facebook Pixel, Twitter Universal Website Tag
Frameworks
Bootstrap (implied by navbar classes), Swiper.js (for sliders), Adobe Experience Platform Launch
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers (implied)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens (implied but not explicitly visible)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Cloudflare Insights, Quantserve, Facebook Analytics, Twitter Analytics
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick, Quantserve, Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Twitter Universal Website Tag
Marketing tools
Adobe DTM, OneSignal Web Push
Transparency
good

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 professionally presented and relevant to scientific community.
  3. Strong use of modern web technologies and analytics.
  4. Privacy and cookie policies are present and GDPR compliant.
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage content.
  6. WHOIS data is unavailable or protected, but this is common for large organizations.
  7. Advertising and tracking are present but transparent and standard for media sites.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern, performant infrastructure leveraging JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5 with advanced analytics and marketing integrations such as Google Tag Manager, Adobe DTM, and OneSignal for push notifications. Hosting appears to be via Cloudflare, providing CDN and security benefits. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. SEO is supported by proper meta tags, Open Graph data, and structured JSON-LD markup. Technical debt appears minimal with well-structured CSS and JavaScript assets. Opportunities exist to improve explicit documentation of security headers and to optimize third-party script loading for further performance gains.
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. 72/100Medium26 findingsView report
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