Is gov.uk Safe? Security Analysis for Government Digital Service
Check if gov.uk is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

AI Summary
GOV.UK is the official digital platform of the UK government, providing a centralized portal for accessing a wide range of government services and information. It serves a broad audience including UK residents, businesses, and citizens, offering key services such as benefits, business guidance, childcare, citizenship, justice, driving, education, tax, passports, visas, and employment support. The platform is managed by the Government Digital Service and has been operational since 1996, reflecting a mature and authoritative presence in the public sector digital space. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including JavaScript ES modules, performance monitoring tools like Lux, and Google Analytics 4 for user insights. It uses a custom government CMS and the GOV.UK Frontend framework, ensuring excellent performance, mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO. The site is hosted under UK government infrastructure with direct domain registration via Nominet, reinforcing its legitimacy. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, implements cookie consent mechanisms, and uses secure forms with anti-spam features. While explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not published on the homepage, the overall security posture is strong with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies aligned with GDPR requirements. Overall, GOV.UK demonstrates a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and user-centric design. It is a safe, reliable, and authoritative source for government-related digital services and information. Strategic recommendations include publishing detailed security policies, adding a security.txt file for vulnerability disclosures, and enhancing direct security contact channels to further strengthen trust and transparency.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
GOV.UK occupies a dominant market position as the primary digital gateway for UK government services, offering comprehensive coverage across multiple public sectors. Its business model is focused on public service delivery rather than commercial revenue generation. The platform benefits from strong government backing, a large user base, and integration with various government departments and agencies. The absence of advertising and affiliate programs underscores its public service nature. The partnership ecosystem includes government bodies and official data providers. Growth indicators include continuous content updates, emergency alert integration, and advanced analytics usage. The platform's operations reflect a mature, enterprise-scale digital service with a focus on accessibility, compliance, and user engagement.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The security maturity of GOV.UK is high, with enforced HTTPS, secure cookie management, and anti-spam measures in forms. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive information were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of publicly available explicit security policies and incident response information represents a compliance gap. There is no visible security.txt file or dedicated security contact email, which could hinder vulnerability reporting and incident management. The site demonstrates good privacy compliance with GDPR-aligned policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the security culture appears robust but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized incident response documentation.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and compliance frameworks.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Government Digital Service
GOV.UK is the UK government's official website providing access to government services and information across multiple sectors including benefits, business, childcare, citizenship, justice, disabilities, driving, education, environment, housing, tax, passports, visas, and working.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
excellent
excellent
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Cookie consent banner with acceptance/rejection options
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Secure forms with anti-spam honeypot field
- Use of nonce in inline scripts
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official UK government website with comprehensive public service information
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak X-Frame-Options configuration
LOWCurrent value: "ALLOWALL"
Weak X-Content-Type-Options configuration
LOWCurrent value: "nosniff, nosniff"
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
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 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
Critical sector without clear security compliance
HIGHDetected sectors: energy, transport, banking, digital
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'default' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'google' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'k1' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'k2' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'selector1' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'selector2' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'mail' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'email' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 'dkim' uses 32-bit key
Weak DKIM Key
HIGHDKIM selector 's1' uses 32-bit key
Strict DMARC Alignment
LOWStrict alignment may cause legitimate emails to fail
SPF Details
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC Details
MTA-STS Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
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 Transfer Lock Not Enabled
MEDIUMDomain can be transferred without authorization
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
Domain Registration Details
- •No domain protection locks enabled
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