Skip to main content

Security report for wcs.org

Wildlife Conservation Society · Non-profit · United States

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

Security score

77/100

Risk levelLow

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

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) operates as a leading global non-profit organization dedicated to wildlife conservation, scientific research, education, and managing zoos and aquariums. Their website, WCS.org, reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content aimed at engaging donors, supporters, and the general public interested in environmental preservation. The organization leverages multiple digital channels and social media platforms to extend its outreach and fundraising efforts. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and accessibility tools like AudioEye. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices, incorporates SEO best practices, and maintains good performance metrics. Security is robust with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers present, although there is room for improvement in publishing explicit security policies and incident response details. From a security standpoint, the site demonstrates a strong posture with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of a dedicated security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure program suggests opportunities to enhance transparency and preparedness. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies, including consent mechanisms and GDPR adherence. Overall, WCS.org presents a trustworthy, professional, and secure platform aligned with the organization's mission. The main limitation in the analysis is the lack of WHOIS data, which restricts domain registration trust evaluation. Nonetheless, the website's content quality, technical implementation, and security measures support a high level of confidence in the organization's legitimacy and operational maturity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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.

    • 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

  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 wcs.org

This scan found 18 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

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. See sample alerts.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
77
Security headers
70
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
77

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

WCS holds a strong market position as a major non-profit in wildlife conservation, supported by a network of zoos and aquariums. Their business model relies on donations, memberships, grants, and partnerships with local and global organizations. The website's integration with partner domains such as Bronx Zoo and Central Park Zoo highlights a collaborative ecosystem. The organization's target audience includes conservationists, donors, educators, and the general public. The presence of impact reports and educational content indicates a focus on transparency and community engagement. Growth indicators include active social media channels and ongoing campaigns like the Hudson Canyon marine sanctuary initiative.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and secure form handling. No exposed credentials or vulnerable libraries were detected. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure program limits the organization's transparency and readiness to handle security incidents. Privacy policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, but explicit data retention policies and DPO contact information are not found. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing security governance documentation and communication.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Establish and publicize an incident response contact channel for security issues.
  3. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Provide contact information for a Data Protection Officer or privacy lead to enhance GDPR compliance.
  5. Regularly review and update privacy and cookie policies to reflect evolving regulations and best practices.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Wildlife Conservation Society
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Wildlife Conservation Society
Description
The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.
Key services
Wildlife conservation, Environmental education, Scientific research, Zoo and aquarium management, Community partnerships
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Amazon Ads, jQuery, Vite (JS bundler), AudioEye (accessibility), Visual Website Optimizer (VWO)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Bing Ads, AdRoll
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Amazon Ads, AdRoll, Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, AdRoll, Amazon Ads, Bing Ads, Visual Website Optimizer
Marketing tools
Visual Website Optimizer, Springboard
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally designed non-profit conservation organization site.
  2. Content is rich, relevant, and well-structured with clear calls to action.
  3. Multiple donation and membership options available.
  4. Strong social media presence with official accounts linked.
  5. Uses modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  6. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  7. WHOIS data is missing or inaccessible, limiting domain trust analysis.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including Vite for JavaScript bundling, jQuery for legacy support, and multiple analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and AdRoll. Accessibility is addressed via AudioEye integration. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, especially in media delivery and script loading. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and good SEO metadata. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified. The technical infrastructure supports a robust and scalable platform suitable for a large non-profit organization.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with wcs.org. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review wcs.org.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.