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Security report for theadcc.ca

The Advertising & Design Club of Canada · Non-profit · Canada

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

53/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Advertising & Design Club of Canada (ADCC) is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to championing and archiving excellence in Canadian advertising and design. Founded in 1948, it operates primarily through annual awards, membership programs, events, and merchandise sales, serving the Canadian creative community including professionals and students. The website reflects a strong market position as the sole non-profit focused on this niche, with consistent branding and high-quality content. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and various APIs for video and maps, showing a moderate to good performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security posture is generally good with HTTPS enabled and secure forms, though improvements are recommended in DNSSEC deployment and security headers. Privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but lacking a cookie consent mechanism. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and safe for general audiences.

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 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

  3. 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 theadcc.ca

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.

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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
35
Email security
75
DNS health
65
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
53
Average
53

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

ADCC holds a unique position in the Canadian creative industry as a non-profit that promotes creative excellence through awards and community engagement. Its revenue streams likely include membership fees, event tickets, and merchandise sales. The organization targets creative professionals, students, and industry stakeholders, fostering growth and recognition in the sector. The website's integration with social media and event platforms like Eventbrite indicates an active partnership ecosystem. The long domain age and consistent WHOIS data reinforce its credibility. However, the absence of direct contact emails or phone numbers suggests a preference for controlled communication via forms.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and secure form handling. The use of third-party scripts is extensive but common for the industry. The lack of DNSSEC and missing security headers represent moderate risks that could be mitigated to enhance protection against DNS spoofing and clickjacking. No incident response or security policy pages were found, indicating potential gaps in transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is partial, with no explicit cookie consent mechanism despite tracking via Google Tag Manager. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from targeted improvements to align with best practices and regulatory expectations.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  3. Add a cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and inform users about tracking.
  4. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and preparedness.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts for security and privacy impact to minimize risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
The Advertising & Design Club of Canada
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Advertising & Design Club of Canada
Description
The ADCC is a non-profit organisation that champions and archives the very best in Canadian advertising and design. It recognizes creative excellence through annual awards, promotes next generation talent, and supports the Canadian creative community.
Key services
Annual ADCC Awards, Student and Rising Stars Awards, Membership programs, Events and content series, Merchandise shop
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.2, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, YouTube Player API, Vimeo Player API, Google Maps API, Eventbrite Widgets, Stripe.js, UserWay Accessibility Widget
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with POST method
  • Use of third-party security/accessibility widget (UserWay)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Marketing tools
Eventbrite Widgets, Stripe.js
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking mechanisms.
  2. Strong branding and consistent messaging throughout the site.
  3. No direct company emails or phone numbers found; contact primarily via forms.
  4. No explicit cookie consent mechanism detected despite use of tracking scripts.
  5. Security headers are not visible in the HTML content; potential area for improvement.
  6. Use of multiple third-party scripts for analytics, video, payments, and accessibility.
  7. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and long-term operation of the organization.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by WordPress 6.8.2, leveraging jQuery and multiple third-party APIs for enhanced functionality including video playback, maps, event management, and payment processing. The presence of Google Tag Manager indicates structured analytics deployment. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive images and accessible design features, including the UserWay accessibility widget. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by multiple external scripts and media content. Hosting details are limited but the registrar is easyDNS Technologies Inc., a reputable provider. The site uses minified CSS and JavaScript assets, indicating some optimization efforts. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and DNS security to reduce technical risks.
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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