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Is darpa.mil a Scam? Security Check Results - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Reviews

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Is darpa.mil Safe? Security Analysis for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Check if darpa.mil is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentUnited Stateslarge
Drupal CMSReactJSGoogle reCAPTCHAGoogle Tag ManagerjQuery
Analyzed 10/3/2025Completed 4:35:36 PM
72
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is a U.S. Department of Defense agency focused on pioneering advanced research and technology development to create technological surprise for national security. The website reflects a mature, well-established government entity with a clear mission, extensive collaboration with academia, industry, and government partners, and a portfolio of cutting-edge research programs and challenges. The site targets a broad audience including researchers, contractors, small businesses, and investors interested in defense technology innovation. Technically, the website is built on Drupal CMS with ReactJS components, uses Google Tag Manager and reCAPTCHA for security and analytics, and follows modern web design and accessibility standards. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though some security headers could be explicitly added. Privacy compliance is moderate with a clear privacy policy but no visible cookie consent mechanism. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained.

Detected Technologies

Drupal CMSReactJSGoogle reCAPTCHAGoogle Tag ManagerjQuery

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

DARPA holds a leading position in the defense research sector, operating as a government agency with a large-scale, enterprise-level presence. Its business model revolves around funding and managing high-risk, high-reward R&D projects that often lead to breakthrough technologies. The agency engages a diverse ecosystem of partners including startups, academia, government bodies, and industry contractors. The website content and structure emphasize collaboration, innovation, and transition of technologies to practical use. The presence of multiple technical offices and programs indicates a broad and evolving research portfolio. DARPA's market position is unique as a government entity driving foundational technology development for national security.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced, use of Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms, and no exposed sensitive data. While explicit security headers like X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options are not visible in the HTML, it is likely they are configured at the server level. No vulnerable or outdated libraries were detected. The absence of a public incident response or vulnerability disclosure page is a minor gap. Overall, the site aligns well with government security standards but could improve transparency on security policies and cookie consent.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and visibly document security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against clickjacking and MIME sniffing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Description:

Since 1958, DARPA has held to an enduring mission: To create technological surprise for U.S. national security.

Key Services:
Research programsChallengesTechnology transitionCollaboration with academia, industry, government
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Drupal CMSReactJSGoogle reCAPTCHAGoogle Tag ManagerjQuery
Frameworks:
Drupal 10.5.2USWDS (U.S. Web Design System)
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA for forms
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Official U.S. Department of Defense research agency website

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

80/100
Score

Weak X-XSS-Protection configuration

LOW

Current value: "1"

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

53/100
Score

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

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% 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

85/100
Score

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 ip4:192.5.18.66 ip4:192.5.18.67 ip4:158.63.250.4 ip4:158.63.250.5 ip4:192.5.18.7 include:_spf.eemsg.mail.mil include:spf.protection.office365.us include:app.aventri.com -all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector1(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:dmarc-reporting@darpa.mil

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

72/100
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 68 days

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

85/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DNS Records

A Records:192.5.18.235
Name Servers:
ns1.darpa.milDNS only
ns2.darpa.milDNS only
ns3.darpa.milDNS only
MX Records:
10: mailgate4.darpa.mil
20: mailgate6.darpa.mil
10: mailgate3.darpa.mil
20: mailgate5.darpa.mil

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 mx ip4:192.5.18.66 ip4:192.5.18.67 ip4:158.63.250.4 ip4:158.63.250.5 ip4:192.5.18.7 include:_spf.eemsg.mail.mil include:spf.protection.office365.us include:app.aventri.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 Drupal 10.5.2 with ReactJS components, leveraging the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) for consistent government styling. It uses Google Tag Manager and Google reCAPTCHA for analytics and security. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich media content and dynamic components. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, with no visible deprecated or vulnerable libraries. Hosting appears to be government-managed or contracted, ensuring compliance with federal standards. Opportunities exist to enhance security headers and privacy mechanisms to further strengthen the technical posture.
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