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Security report for softwarefreedom.org

Software Freedom Law Center · Other · N/a

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

Security score

56/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) is a non-profit organization providing pro-bono legal services to developers and communities involved in Free, Libre, and Open Source Software (FLOSS). Established in 2002, SFLC has a long-standing presence in the legal support of FOSS projects, including notable clients such as the Free Software Foundation and Linux Foundation. The website reflects this mission with content focused on legal representation, code of conduct mediation, and advocacy for open source software rights. The target audience primarily consists of FOSS developers and related non-profit organizations. Technically, the website is built on a custom or static platform using older technologies such as jQuery 1.4.3. The site is accessible and moderately optimized but lacks modern performance and accessibility features. There is no evidence of advanced CMS or frameworks, and SEO and mobile optimization are basic. The domain is registered with Gandi SAS since 2002, indicating a stable and legitimate digital presence. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS (implied by domain status and modern standards), but lacks DNSSEC and security headers, and uses an outdated JavaScript library, which could expose it to vulnerabilities. No cookie consent or comprehensive privacy compliance mechanisms are present, though a basic privacy policy exists. Contact is primarily via a contact form, with no direct emails or phone numbers visible. No incident response or security policies are published. Overall, SFLC's website is trustworthy and professional but could benefit from technical modernization, enhanced security practices, and improved privacy compliance to better serve its community and protect its digital assets.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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. 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';…
  2. 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

    • 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 softwarefreedom.org

This scan found 26 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
62
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
53
Average
56

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 softwarefreedom.org, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for softwarefreedom.org right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

SFLC occupies a niche market position as a specialized legal service provider for the FOSS community, leveraging its non-profit status to offer pro-bono services. Its competitive advantage lies in its long history, recognized leadership, and deep integration with major open source organizations. Revenue streams likely include donations and grants, supported by a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. The organization targets developers, non-profits, and open source projects requiring legal assistance. Growth indicators include ongoing conferences, blog activity, and involvement in high-profile legal cases. The partnership ecosystem includes recognized entities like the Free Software Foundation and Linux Foundation, enhancing credibility and reach. Operationally, SFLC maintains a focused, mission-driven approach with limited commercial distractions.

Security posture

SFLC demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. The absence of DNSSEC and security headers, combined with the use of an outdated JavaScript library, represent areas of vulnerability that could be exploited. The lack of visible incident response contacts or published security policies suggests limited formal security governance. However, the domain registration status and long-term ownership provide trust signals. Compliance with privacy regulations appears minimal, with no cookie consent mechanisms and only a basic privacy policy. The organization should prioritize updating technical components, implementing security headers, enabling DNSSEC, and enhancing privacy compliance to reduce risk and improve resilience.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain security.
  2. Update all JavaScript libraries, especially jQuery, to current secure versions to mitigate known vulnerabilities.
  3. Implement standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  4. Add a cookie policy and consent mechanism to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  5. Publish clear incident response and security policies, including dedicated security contact information.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Software Freedom Law Center
Description
The Software Freedom Law Center provides legal representation and other law related services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software. It offers pro-bono legal services to developers of Free, Libre, and Open Source Software.
Key services
Legal representation, Law related services, FOSS Code of Conduct development and mediation, Pro-bono legal aid
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 1.4.3
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
60/100
Good practices seen
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is accessible and not blocked by WAF or security mechanisms
  2. Content is focused on legal services for Free and Open Source Software communities
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie consent mechanisms detected
  4. No visible contact emails or phone numbers on main page; contact form is primary contact method
  5. No social media links detected
  6. Use of outdated jQuery library may pose security risks
  7. No security headers detected in provided data
  8. No structured data (JSON-LD or Open Graph) found in HTML
  9. Domain WHOIS data supports legitimacy and long-term operation
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a simple, mostly static HTML structure with jQuery 1.4.3 as the only detected JavaScript library, indicating an outdated tech stack. No modern frameworks or CMS platforms are detected. Hosting appears to be managed via Gandi SAS, the domain registrar, but no CDN or advanced hosting services are evident. Performance is moderate, with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is basic, with meta description and keywords present but no structured data or Open Graph tags. The site lacks modern technical enhancements such as responsive design frameworks or progressive web app features. Technical debt is evident in outdated libraries and missing security best practices, representing modernization opportunities.
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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