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.

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
🧠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)
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
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
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
excellent
excellent
good
Security Assessment
- 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
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official U.S. government website with .gov TLD
🛡️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 X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
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 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 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
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
Weak SSL Key Length
HIGHSSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak
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
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
Domain Registration Details
- •Privacy/proxy registration detected
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