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Security report for start.org

START International, Inc. · Non-profit · United States

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

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

START International, Inc. is a well-established US-based non-profit organization founded in 1995, focused on providing training, research, education, and networking opportunities to strengthen scientific skills and leadership in sustainability and climate change solutions. The organization maintains a professional web presence with detailed program information, partnerships, and news updates, targeting researchers, educators, and sustainability professionals globally. The website leverages a modern WordPress CMS with common plugins and frameworks such as Bootstrap and jQuery, delivering a good user experience with mobile optimization and clear navigation. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protections, though improvements are recommended in DNSSEC deployment, cookie consent mechanisms, and publishing explicit security policies. Privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but lacking cookie consent. Overall, the site demonstrates high business credibility and trustworthiness with strong partner affiliations and consistent branding.

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

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  • 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
20
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
63

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 organization operates in the non-profit sector with a focus on global environmental change and sustainability education. Its business model revolves around capacity building through training programs, research initiatives, and networking events. The presence of multiple international partners such as NSF and Belmont Forum indicates a strong collaborative ecosystem. The website content and structure support a medium-sized organization with a global reach. Revenue streams likely include grants, donations, and program funding. The company maintains a consistent brand image and provides clear contact channels, enhancing stakeholder trust.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS and employs domain registration protections, indicating a baseline security maturity. However, the absence of DNSSEC and Content Security Policy headers, along with no visible incident response or security policies, suggests room for improvement in security governance. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The site uses standard WordPress plugins, which should be regularly updated to mitigate risks. The lack of cookie consent mechanisms may pose compliance risks under GDPR and similar regulations. Overall, the security posture is moderate but could be enhanced with additional controls and transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to strengthen domain name system security.
  2. Implement a cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR.
  3. Publish a clear security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website.
  4. Add Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate cross-site scripting risks.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance and user experience.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
START International, Inc.
Description
START provides opportunities for training, research, education and networking that strengthen scientific skills and inspire leadership for advancing solutions to critical sustainability challenges.
Key services
Training, Research, Education, Networking, Capacity building, Climate change adaptation programs
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.2, jQuery 3.5.1, Bootstrap, Font Awesome, Google Analytics, AddToAny social sharing, Owl Carousel, Contact Form 7, Custom Facebook Feed, MetaSlider
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDeleteProhibited domain status
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • External links open in new windows with noopener

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Marketing tools
AddToAny social sharing, Mailchimp (inferred from list-manage.com)
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally maintained non-profit organization site focused on sustainability and climate change.
  2. Content is rich with multiple programs, news, and partner information.
  3. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  4. No cookie consent mechanism detected despite privacy policy presence.
  5. WHOIS privacy protection is used but justified.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  7. Uses standard WordPress plugins and technologies.
  8. External links open in new windows with noopener for security.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.8.2 with a modern tech stack including Bootstrap, jQuery, and Font Awesome. It uses several plugins for functionality such as Contact Form 7, MetaSlider, and social media feeds. Hosting appears to be with GoDaddy, inferred from WHOIS and nameservers. Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of scripts and some caching headers. Mobile optimization is good with responsive design and viewport settings. SEO is basic with meta descriptions and canonical links but lacks advanced structured data like JSON-LD for organization or breadcrumbs. The site uses Google Analytics and Tag Manager for tracking, indicating moderate data collection practices. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid but could benefit from enhanced SEO and security headers.
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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