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Security report for trade.gov

International Trade Administration · Government · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The International Trade Administration (ITA) is a U.S. government agency under the Department of Commerce focused on strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promoting trade and investment, and ensuring fair trade through trade laws and agreements. The website serves as a comprehensive resource for U.S. businesses, exporters, and investors, offering export solutions, trade data and analysis, problem resolution services, and virtual assistance. ITA positions itself as the authoritative source for navigating global markets and supporting U.S. economic growth through international trade. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern web technologies including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Crazy Egg. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and well-structured with clear navigation and professional design. Security best practices are observed with HTTPS enforcement, multiple security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities. Privacy and cookie policies are present and indicate GDPR compliance, enhancing user trust. The security posture is strong, with no detected vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. The domain is a .gov domain, which inherently provides a high level of trust and legitimacy. WHOIS data is limited due to .gov domain privacy norms but aligns with expectations for a government entity. Overall, the website demonstrates a mature digital presence with robust security and compliance measures. Strategically, ITA should consider publishing explicit security policies and vulnerability disclosure programs to further enhance transparency and trust. Regular updates to third-party scripts and continued monitoring of privacy compliance will maintain the site's integrity and user confidence.

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

4 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.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  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 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

    • 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 trade.gov

This scan found 17 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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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
0
Security headers
55
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
61

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 trade.gov, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
209
Employees
5
Customers
128
Third parties
76
Weak passwords
16%

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 trade.gov.

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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

ITA operates as a key government entity facilitating U.S. international trade and investment. Its market position is strong as the official U.S. government resource, providing essential services to exporters, investors, and trade professionals. The business model is service-oriented, focusing on information dissemination, problem resolution, and event organization. Revenue streams are government-funded, with no commercial sales evident. The target customer segments include U.S. businesses of all sizes, trade associations, economic development organizations, and foreign investors. The partnership ecosystem includes related government sites and trade promotion organizations. The website's comprehensive content and professional presentation reflect a well-established operation with strategic importance in U.S. trade policy and economic development.

Security posture

The website exhibits a high security maturity level with enforced HTTPS, robust security headers, and no detected vulnerabilities in the provided content. There is no evidence of exposed credentials or sensitive data. Compliance with privacy regulations is indicated by the presence of privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy or incident response page suggests room for improvement in transparency and preparedness. The site does not currently publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file, which are recommended best practices. Overall, the security posture is strong but could be enhanced by formalizing and publishing security governance documents.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a formal security policy and incident response plan on the website to improve transparency and user trust.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program, including a security.txt file, to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  3. Regularly update and audit third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate risks from outdated components.
  4. Enhance privacy compliance disclosures with explicit GDPR and CCPA statements and data retention policies.
  5. Maintain continuous monitoring and testing of security controls to proactively identify and remediate vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
International Trade Administration
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
International Trade Administration
Description
ITA strengthens the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promotes trade and investment, and ensures fair trade through trade laws and agreements.
Key services
Export Solutions, Trade Data & Analysis, Trade Problem Resolution, Virtual Services, Investment Promotion
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, AddToAny
Frameworks
Drupal CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure cookies
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, Siteimprove Analytics, Medallia
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Crazy Egg, Siteimprove Analytics, Medallia
Marketing tools
AddToAny
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is an official U.S. government site (.gov)
  2. Content is comprehensive and professionally presented
  3. No signs of malicious or suspicious content
  4. Good use of modern web technologies and analytics
  5. Strong security posture with HTTPS and security headers
  6. Privacy and cookie policies are present and comprehensive
  7. Contact information is clearly available
  8. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern Drupal 10 CMS platform, utilizing jQuery and various third-party analytics and tracking tools such as Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, and Siteimprove Analytics. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of scripts to improve page load times. SEO is supported by proper meta tags, Open Graph tags, and structured data. The technical infrastructure appears robust and well-maintained, though reliance on multiple third-party tracking services may warrant periodic privacy impact assessments. Hosting details are not explicitly identified but the use of .gov domain and government hosting standards imply a secure and compliant environment.
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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