Is atf.gov Safe? Security Analysis for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Check if atf.gov is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a U.S. federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice. It focuses on protecting communities from violent crime, illegal firearms and explosives trafficking, arson, terrorism, and diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. The website serves as an official information portal providing regulatory, enforcement, and public safety resources to the general public, law enforcement, and industry stakeholders. The site is well-branded, consistent, and professionally maintained, reflecting its authoritative government status. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 7 with modern web technologies including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and New Relic for monitoring. It integrates with government analytics and search services, and uses HTTPS exclusively, ensuring secure communications. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices. However, some compliance gaps exist such as the absence of a cookie consent mechanism and explicit security headers. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates a solid posture with HTTPS, no exposed sensitive data, and use of monitoring tools. However, it lacks published security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, which are recommended best practices for transparency and trust. The WHOIS data is unavailable due to privacy or .gov domain restrictions, but the domain and content strongly indicate legitimacy. Overall, the ATF website is a trustworthy, authoritative government resource with good technical and security foundations. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance and security transparency would further enhance its trustworthiness and user confidence.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
ATF holds a critical position as a federal law enforcement agency with a clear mandate to regulate firearms, explosives, arson, and alcohol/tobacco diversion. Its business model is government-funded and service-oriented, targeting law enforcement, industry members, and the general public. The website supports this mission by providing forms, publications, news, and contact resources. The agency maintains a strong partnership ecosystem with the Department of Justice and other government entities. The digital presence reflects a mature, enterprise-level operation with consistent branding and professional content. Growth indicators include active social media engagement and ongoing public communications such as open letters and reform initiatives.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The ATF website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, no visible sensitive data leaks, and integration of security monitoring tools like New Relic. However, the absence of explicit security headers and published incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies represents areas for improvement. No critical vulnerabilities or malware indicators were detected. The site lacks a cookie consent mechanism, which may impact privacy compliance. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by adopting best practices in transparency and user privacy controls.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy including incident response contacts.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
ATF is a law enforcement agency in the United States’ Department of Justice that protects communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, illegal firearms trafficking, explosives misuse, arson, terrorism, and illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. It partners with communities, industries, law enforcement, and public safety agencies to safeguard the public through information sharing, training, research, and technology.
good
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Use of security analytics (New Relic)
- External scripts loaded over HTTPS
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official US government website with .gov domain
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages
👤GDPR Compliance
Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.
GDPR Compliance
Privacy and data protection assessment
No Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
No Data Protection Officer mentioned
LOWLarge organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR
Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant
MEDIUMPrivacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements
GDPR Compliance Analysis
🛡️NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.
NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive
No information security framework found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures
No vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
No security policy documentation found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management
No incident response procedures found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans
No business continuity planning found
MEDIUMNIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity
No security contact information
HIGHNIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels
No vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
No NIS2 reference found
LOWConsider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
No DKIM record found
MEDIUMDKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails
Strict DMARC Alignment
LOWStrict alignment may cause legitimate emails to fail
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
No MTA-STS Policy
MEDIUMMTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery
No TLS-RPT Record
LOWTLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues
SPF Details
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Certificate Details
OCSP Status
📊DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment.
DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
SPF Analysis
⚡Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis.
Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis
Good Network Security Posture
LOWNo unnecessary services detected on common risky ports
🔧Technical Analysis
Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.
Technical Analysis
Comprehensive security assessment findings