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Security report for usgs.gov

United States Geological Survey · Government · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

80/100

Risk levelLow

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

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a premier federal scientific agency providing comprehensive research and data on natural hazards, water resources, energy, minerals, ecosystems, and environmental health. Positioned as the authoritative source for earth science information in the United States, USGS serves government agencies, researchers, educators, and the public with timely and relevant scientific data. The website reflects this mission with rich content, authoritative descriptions, and a focus on public service. Technically, the USGS website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern web technologies including jQuery UI, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and Hotjar for analytics and user experience insights. The site demonstrates good performance, excellent mobile optimization, and accessibility features, ensuring broad usability. The use of HTTPS and security headers indicates a strong security posture, although explicit security policies and incident response information are not prominently published. Security-wise, the site benefits from robust SSL configuration and standard security headers, with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of a published vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file and limited incident response contact details suggest areas for improvement in transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies, including consent mechanisms and GDPR considerations. Overall, the USGS website is a highly credible, professional, and secure government resource. The incomplete WHOIS data is typical for .gov domains and does not detract from the site's legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include publishing detailed security policies, incident response procedures, and vulnerability disclosure information to enhance trust and compliance further.

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

3 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 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 usgs.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.

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
95
Security headers
70
Email security
80
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
80

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

USGS operates as a government scientific research entity under the Department of the Interior, focusing on earth sciences and natural resource monitoring. Its market position is unique as the primary federal agency for geological and environmental data, serving a broad audience including policymakers, scientists, and the public. The business model centers on public service and data dissemination rather than commercial revenue. The website supports this with extensive scientific content and educational resources. Partnerships and related domains are not explicitly identified, but the agency likely collaborates with other government and research organizations. The digital presence is mature, reflecting a large, established organization with a focus on transparency and accessibility.

Security posture

The USGS website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and secure form handling via Drupal CMS. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive information were detected. However, the lack of publicly available security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates gaps in security transparency and community engagement. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are well implemented, supporting compliance with GDPR and other regulations. The site uses analytics tools responsibly, balancing user tracking with privacy considerations. Overall, the security maturity is high but could benefit from enhanced policy publication and incident readiness disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page detailing security practices and frameworks.
  2. Implement and publicly disclose a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Provide clear incident response contact information, including security and abuse email addresses.
  4. Enhance data protection officer visibility and GDPR compliance documentation.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party analytics and tracking tools to minimize privacy risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
United States Geological Survey
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
United States Geological Survey
Description
We provide science about the natural hazards that threaten lives and livelihoods; the water, energy, minerals, and other natural resources we rely on; the health of our ecosystems and environment; and the impacts of climate and land-use change. Our scientists develop new methods and tools to supply timely, relevant, and useful information about the Earth and its processes.
Key services
Natural hazard science, Water resources monitoring, Energy and mineral resource assessment, Ecosystem and environmental health research, Climate and land-use change impact studies
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, jQuery UI, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Hotjar, YouTube iframe API
Frameworks
Drupal
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens (implied by Drupal)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Hotjar
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official US government website with .gov domain
  2. Comprehensive scientific content focused on earth sciences
  3. Modern and accessible website design using Drupal CMS
  4. Use of multiple analytics and tracking tools with privacy policies
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious content
  6. WHOIS data incomplete but consistent with government domain policies
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10, a modern and secure CMS platform, with integration of jQuery UI components for UI elements. It uses Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics for tracking, alongside Hotjar for user behavior analysis. The site loads asynchronously loaded scripts from trusted domains such as YouTube and Google, indicating a well-architected front-end. Performance is moderate, with good mobile responsiveness and accessibility features. The presence of comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph data supports SEO optimization. Hosting details are not explicitly identified but likely managed by a government hosting provider. The technical stack is modern and well maintained, with opportunities to improve documentation of security and privacy practices.
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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