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Is fda.gov a Scam? Security Check Results - U.S. Food and Drug Administration Reviews

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Is fda.gov Safe? Security Analysis for U.S. Food and Drug Administration

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

GovernmentUnited Statesenterprise
Google Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)Crazy EggDrupal CMSUniversal Federated Analytics
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 4:36:38 AM
70
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a federal government agency responsible for protecting public health by regulating food safety, drugs, medical devices, and other related products. The website serves as an authoritative source for regulatory information, safety alerts, guidance documents, and consumer education. It targets a broad audience including consumers, patients, industry stakeholders, health professionals, and government officials. The FDA holds a dominant market position as the primary regulatory authority in the United States for its sectors. Technically, the website is built on the Drupal CMS platform and employs modern analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Crazy Egg for user behavior tracking and performance insights. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and well-structured with comprehensive metadata and SEO practices. The use of HTTPS and privacy-conscious analytics configurations indicate a mature digital infrastructure. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, explicit security headers are not evident in the HTML content, and there is no visible security.txt file for vulnerability disclosure. The site links to a vulnerability disclosure policy hosted by the parent agency (HHS), indicating a formal security posture. No critical vulnerabilities or suspicious content were detected. Overall, the FDA website demonstrates a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and compliance with privacy and security best practices. The incomplete WHOIS data is typical for U.S. government domains and does not detract from the site's legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, implementing a security.txt file, and improving cookie consent mechanisms to further strengthen privacy compliance.

Detected Technologies

Google Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)Crazy EggDrupal CMSUniversal Federated Analytics

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The FDA operates as a government regulatory agency with a clear mandate to ensure public health and safety. Its business model is non-commercial, focused on regulation, oversight, and information dissemination. The agency's competitive advantage lies in its authoritative status and legal mandate. Revenue streams are government-funded. The target customer segments include consumers, healthcare professionals, industry participants, and government officials. The FDA maintains a broad partnership ecosystem with other government entities such as HHS and USA.gov. The website reflects a mature digital presence with strong branding and comprehensive content supporting its mission. Strategically, the FDA's online presence supports transparency, public engagement, and regulatory compliance. The site’s integration with social media and modern analytics tools indicates an emphasis on outreach and data-driven decision-making. The agency’s operations and market presence are stable and authoritative, with no evident commercial conflicts or vulnerabilities.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (1)

188*******

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The FDA website exhibits a solid security posture with mandatory HTTPS encryption and privacy-conscious analytics configurations. The absence of explicit security headers in the HTML is a minor gap that could be addressed to enhance protection against common web attacks. The site does not expose sensitive information or vulnerable libraries. The linkage to a formal vulnerability disclosure policy hosted by HHS demonstrates incident response readiness and security culture awareness. No signs of malware, phishing, or other security threats were found. Compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations is implied through privacy policies and cookie practices, though cookie consent mechanisms could be improved. Overall, the security maturity level is high for a government website, with room for incremental improvements in headers and transparency. The risk to business operations from security vulnerabilities is low, supporting the agency’s mission-critical functions.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement comprehensive security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Description:

The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.

Key Services:
Regulation and oversight of food safetyDrug approval and monitoringMedical device regulationSafety alerts and recallsGuidance documents publicationConsumer education
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Google Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)Crazy EggDrupal CMSUniversal Federated Analytics
Frameworks:
Drupal
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

excellent

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure cookie usage implied
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Google Tag Manager with privacy settings (no ad personalization)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsUniversal Federated AnalyticsCrazy Egg
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Crazy Egg
Tracking Pixels:
Universal Federated Analytics
Marketing Tools:
Crazy Egg
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. government website with .gov TLD

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

55/100
Score

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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

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

35/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

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 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

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

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 include:_spf.fda.gov ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:rua.dmarc@fda.hhs.gov
Forensic Reports:ruf.dmarc@fda.hhs.gov

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

80/100
Score

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:www.fda.gov
Issuer:HydrantID Server CA O1
Valid Until:2/7/2026 (153 days)
SANs:fda.gov, www.fda.gov, blogs.fda.gov +21 more

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
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

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
25 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(342 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:2.21.206.105
AAAA Records:2a02:26f0:41:5a0::308a, 2a02:26f0:41:5a3::308a
Name Servers:
a1-242.akam.net
a13-64.akam.net
a2-65.akam.net
a20-65.akam.net
a24-66.akam.net
a7-67.akam.net
MX Records:
10: smtp8.fda.gov
10: smtp7.fda.gov
10: smtp9.fda.gov
10: smtp6.fda.gov
SOA:Serial: 2021091190, TTL: 900s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:59ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.fda.gov ~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 FDA website is built on Drupal CMS, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries and analytics tools including Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Crazy Egg, and Universal Federated Analytics. The site uses asynchronous loading for scripts to optimize performance. The HTML is well-structured with comprehensive meta tags for SEO and social media integration (Open Graph, Twitter cards). Mobile optimization and accessibility features are excellent, including skip links and ARIA attributes.
Performance is moderate, likely due to the inclusion of multiple third-party scripts, but overall user experience is smooth. The site lacks explicit security headers in the HTML response, which is a technical debt area. Hosting provider details are not explicitly found but likely government infrastructure. The site uses HTTPS exclusively, ensuring secure data transmission. There are no visible technical errors or broken elements in the content.
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