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Is cityoffrederickmd.gov a Scam? Security Check Results - City of Frederick, MD Reviews

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Is cityoffrederickmd.gov Safe? Security Analysis for City of Frederick, MD

Check if cityoffrederickmd.gov is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentUnited Statesmedium
jQuery 2.2.4jQuery UI 1.14.1AlpineJS 3.14.1Google Tag ManagerMicrosoft Application Insights+1 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 11:38:21 PM
60
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The City of Frederick, MD official website serves as a comprehensive portal for municipal government services, public information, and community engagement. It targets residents, businesses, and visitors by providing access to services such as payments, public meetings, parks and recreation, police information, and permits. The website is positioned as the authoritative digital presence for the city government, offering a broad range of resources and links to related government entities and services. Technically, the website utilizes a CivicPlus CMS platform with modern JavaScript libraries including jQuery and AlpineJS. It integrates Google Tag Manager and Microsoft Application Insights for analytics and telemetry. The site is mobile responsive with basic accessibility features and moderate performance. Hosting and DNS are managed by reputable providers, though DNSSEC is not enabled. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and includes anti-forgery tokens in forms, but lacks visible security headers and DNSSEC. There is no published privacy policy, cookie consent mechanism, or security incident response information, which are gaps in compliance and transparency. The domain is a .gov domain with privacy-protected WHOIS data, consistent with government usage and legitimacy. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and functional, but would benefit from enhanced privacy compliance, security header implementation, and clearer user privacy disclosures to improve its security posture and regulatory adherence.

Detected Technologies

jQuery 2.2.4jQuery UI 1.14.1AlpineJS 3.14.1Google Tag ManagerMicrosoft Application InsightsCivicPlus CMS

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The City of Frederick operates as a municipal government entity providing essential public services and information to its community. Its digital presence supports transparency, civic engagement, and service delivery. The website's integration with government job portals, mapping services, and state government links indicates a well-connected ecosystem. The business model is non-commercial, focused on public service rather than revenue generation. The site’s market position is as the primary official source for city-related information and services, with a medium-sized audience comprising local residents and businesses. The use of privacy protection in WHOIS is justified for government security. The site’s partnerships with state and county government domains enhance its credibility and service reach.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (2)

301*******
301*******

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and anti-forgery tokens implemented, reducing risks of data interception and CSRF attacks. However, the absence of DNSSEC, security headers (such as CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options), and published security policies limits its defense-in-depth. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is available, which could hinder timely response to security events. The use of reputable DNS and hosting providers is a positive factor. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a government informational site but requires improvements to meet best practices and compliance standards.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to secure DNS queries and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

City of Frederick, MD

Description:

Official website of the City of Frederick, Maryland providing government services, public information, community events, and resources for residents and businesses.

Key Services:
Resident ServicesBusiness ServicesGovernment InformationDepartments DirectoryOnline PaymentsPublic MeetingsEmployment OpportunitiesMaps and AppsParks and RecreationPolice Department
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQuery 2.2.4jQuery UI 1.14.1AlpineJS 3.14.1Google Tag ManagerMicrosoft Application InsightsCivicPlus CMS
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

basic

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ServerTransferProhibited domain status
  • Anti-forgery token implemented in forms
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)Microsoft Application Insights
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Microsoft Application Insights
Marketing Tools:
Microsoft Application Insights
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:good
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Official municipal government website with comprehensive public services information

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

40/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-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

35/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

Third-party services without privacy policy

HIGH

Detected services: Google Analytics, YouTube, Google APIs

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

70/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DMARC reporting

LOW

DMARC aggregate reports not configured

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 mx a include:_spf.psm.knowbe4.com include:spf.constantcontact.com include:spf.cashedge.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com a:vpn.cityoffrederick.com a:mail.cityoffrederick.com -all
DNS Lookups:8/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

62/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 86 days

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

4 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
5 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
medium(56 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:208.90.188.168
Name Servers:
ns10.dnsmadeeasy.com
ns11.dnsmadeeasy.com
ns12.dnsmadeeasy.com
ns13.dnsmadeeasy.com
ns14.dnsmadeeasy.com
ns15.dnsmadeeasy.com
MX Records:
10: mx-01-us-east-2.prod.hydra.sophos.com
20: mx-02-us-east-2.prod.hydra.sophos.com
SOA:Serial: 2009010146, TTL: 180s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:88ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 mx a include:_spf.psm.knowbe4.com include:spf.constantcontact.com include:spf.cashedge.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com a:vpn.cityoffrederick.com a:mail.cityoffrederick.com -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on the CivicPlus CMS platform, leveraging jQuery, jQuery UI, and AlpineJS for frontend interactivity. It uses Google Fonts and Google Tag Manager for typography and analytics, respectively, alongside Microsoft Application Insights for telemetry. The site is mobile responsive with a structured navigation menu and accessible search functionality. Performance is moderate, with some deferred script loading and use of CDN-hosted resources. The domain is registered with get.gov and uses DNS Made Easy for DNS management. The site lacks DNSSEC and security headers, which are technical risks. Overall, the infrastructure is stable but could benefit from modernization and enhanced security configurations.
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