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Security report for smartconservationtools.org

SMART Conservation Software · Other · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

SMART Conservation Software is a well-established open-source platform designed to assist conservationists worldwide in managing and protecting wildlife and natural habitats. Supported by a global alliance of reputable conservation organizations, SMART offers tools for data collection, analysis, and reporting, alongside community resources and training. The platform targets conservation professionals and organizations seeking to improve conservation management effectiveness through technology and collaboration. Technically, the website is built on the DNN CMS platform, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries and providing a responsive, user-friendly experience. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and domain protections, though improvements are recommended in DNSSEC and security headers. Privacy compliance is basic with cookie consent and privacy policies present but lacking explicit GDPR statements. Overall, the website demonstrates high professionalism and trustworthiness with strong partner endorsements and a clear mission.

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

8 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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

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

Keep watching smartconservationtools.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.

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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
72
Security headers
40
Email security
55
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
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 SMART platform occupies a niche in the conservation technology sector, leveraging partnerships with leading NGOs such as WWF, WCS, and ZSL to enhance its credibility and reach. Its open-source model and community-driven approach foster broad adoption and collaboration. Revenue streams likely include grants, partnerships, and training services rather than direct sales. The target market includes protected area managers, wildlife conservationists, and environmental NGOs globally. The partnership ecosystem is robust, providing strategic advantages in resource sharing and global impact. The website's multilingual support and comprehensive resource offerings indicate a mature and well-supported operation.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate and domain registration protections that prevent unauthorized transfers or deletions. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents areas for enhancement. No incident response or security policy information is published, which could be improved to demonstrate security maturity. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from adopting additional best practices and transparency measures.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  3. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  4. Enhance privacy policy to explicitly address GDPR compliance and data retention practices.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure no vulnerabilities are introduced.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
SMART Conservation Software
Description
The SMART platform provides software and analysis tools to help conservationists manage and protect wildlife and wild places. It supports data collection, analysis, and reporting to improve conservation management effectiveness worldwide. The platform is open-source and customizable for various environments and conservation needs.
Key services
Conservation data collection and analysis tools, Capacity development and training, Community forums and support, Downloadable software releases, Resource libraries and manuals
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.7.1, jQuery Migrate 3.4.1, jQuery UI 1.13.3, FontAwesome 5.15.3, Google Fonts (Merriweather, Roboto), DNN Platform (DotNetNuke CMS), OpenContent module, DGGalleryPro module, FlexSlider
Frameworks
DNN (DotNetNuke)
Platforms
Microsoft ASP.NET Web Forms
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDeleteProhibited and ClientTransferProhibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (via gtag.js)
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 professionally presented with clear navigation and multilingual support.
  3. Strong partnership ecosystem with reputable conservation organizations.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and CMS platform (DNN).
  5. Privacy and cookie policies are present but basic; GDPR compliance not explicitly stated.
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage; contact form available.
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response information published.
  8. SSL is properly configured; security headers are missing.
  9. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the mature DNN CMS platform with a tech stack including jQuery, FontAwesome, and Google Fonts. It uses ASP.NET Web Forms technology, indicating a stable but somewhat legacy backend framework. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. The site is mobile responsive and SEO optimized with proper meta tags. Accessibility is basic and could be improved to meet higher standards. The hosting and DNS setup is standard with Google Domains nameservers and Squarespace as registrar. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid but could benefit from modernization and enhanced security configurations.
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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