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Security report for smpl.org

City of Santa Monica · Government · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The City of Santa Monica operates an official government website providing comprehensive information on city services, programs, and resources, including library services. The website targets residents and visitors seeking municipal information and public services. It maintains a strong market position as the authoritative source for Santa Monica city information. The site features a well-structured navigation system and uses modern web technologies such as Blazor, Google Analytics, Microsoft Application Insights, and Microsoft Clarity to monitor performance and user engagement. The website is mobile-optimized and accessible, with consistent branding and trust indicators such as official social media links and a .gov domain. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses reputable analytics tools with anonymized tracking. However, it lacks visible privacy and cookie policies, incident response contacts, and published security frameworks, which are areas for improvement. No critical vulnerabilities or suspicious content were detected, and the WHOIS data confirms the domain's legitimacy as a government entity. Overall, the site demonstrates a good security posture but would benefit from enhanced privacy compliance and explicit security policies. The technical infrastructure is modern and leverages multiple third-party services for analytics and user experience enhancements. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, and SEO practices are adequately implemented. The site’s content is safe for general audiences, focusing on public services without any adult or questionable content. Strategic recommendations include publishing privacy and cookie policies, implementing security headers, and establishing a vulnerability disclosure process to strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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
  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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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

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

Keep watching smpl.org

This scan found 21 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
52
Security headers
20
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
67

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention smpl.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
13
Employees
0
Customers
13
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
69%

2 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for smpl.org.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The City of Santa Monica's website serves as a central hub for municipal services, targeting local residents, businesses, and visitors. Its business model is that of a government service provider, funded by public resources and focused on community engagement and information dissemination. The site’s extensive program listings and service categories indicate a broad service portfolio, including housing, safety, youth and seniors, library, farmers market, and utilities. The presence of official social media channels and structured data enhances its outreach and credibility. The website supports transparency and accessibility, key competitive advantages for government entities. Growth indicators include integration of modern analytics and user engagement tools. The partnership ecosystem includes links to local transit and animal services, reflecting community collaboration. Overall, the website reflects a mature digital presence aligned with public sector best practices.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security foundation with HTTPS enforcement and use of trusted analytics platforms. Security headers are not explicitly detected in the provided data, suggesting an opportunity to enhance HTTP response security. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were identified. The absence of a published privacy policy, cookie consent mechanism, and incident response contact reduces compliance maturity and user trust. There is no evidence of a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file, which are recommended for transparency and proactive security management. The site’s security posture is good but could be elevated by adopting recognized frameworks such as ISO 27001 or NIST and publishing relevant policies. Incident response readiness is unclear due to lack of contact channels. Overall, the site is secure for general use but should address compliance and transparency gaps.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve GDPR and privacy compliance.
  2. Implement and verify security HTTP headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Referrer-Policy.
  3. Establish and publicize an incident response contact email (e.g., security@ or abuse@) for security issues.
  4. Create and maintain a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Conduct regular security audits and update third-party libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
City of Santa Monica
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
City of Santa Monica
Description
The official website for the City of Santa Monica featuring the latest information on city services, programs, news, and more.
Key services
Library services and programs, City programs and services, Public information dissemination
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Analytics, Microsoft Application Insights, Microsoft Clarity, Font Awesome, Google Translate, ArcGIS JS API, Slick Carousel
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of modern analytics with anonymized tracking
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Microsoft Application Insights, Microsoft Clarity
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Microsoft Application Insights, Microsoft Clarity
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official City of Santa Monica government website with comprehensive navigation and program listings
  2. Use of multiple analytics and tracking tools for performance and user behavior insights
  3. No visible privacy or cookie policies on the analyzed page
  4. No explicit security or incident response policies published
  5. Good use of structured data for organization and contact information
  6. Mobile optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations
  7. No suspicious or malicious content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including Blazor for frontend rendering, Google Analytics and Microsoft Application Insights for telemetry, Microsoft Clarity for user behavior analysis, and Font Awesome for icons. It integrates Google Translate for multilingual support and ArcGIS JS API for mapping features. The site loads external CSS and JS from reputable CDNs, enhancing performance and reliability. The HTML structure is well-formed with meta tags supporting SEO and accessibility. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in loading speed and accessibility features. The site is mobile-optimized and uses responsive design principles. Technical risks are minimal but include the absence of explicit security headers and privacy compliance mechanisms. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a robust and user-friendly experience aligned with government digital service 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

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