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Is gov.uk a Scam? Security Check Results - Government Digital Service Reviews

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Is gov.uk Safe? Security Analysis for Government Digital Service

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

GovernmentUnited Kingdomenterprise
JavaScript ES ModulesLux (performance monitoring)GA4 (Google Analytics 4)Gem components (govuk_publishing_components)SVG graphics
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 4:35:48 AM
64
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

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

JavaScript ES ModulesLux (performance monitoring)GA4 (Google Analytics 4)Gem components (govuk_publishing_components)SVG graphics

🧠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

1

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

Company:

Government Digital Service

Description:

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.

Key Services:
Benefits information and applicationsBusiness and self-employed guidanceChildcare and parenting supportCitizenship and immigration servicesDriving and transport servicesEducation and learning resourcesTax and money managementPassports and travel adviceJob search and employment services
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScript ES ModulesLux (performance monitoring)GA4 (Google Analytics 4)Gem components (govuk_publishing_components)SVG graphics
Frameworks:
GOV.UK Frontend
Platforms:
Government Digital Service platform
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

excellent

SEO:

excellent

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • 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

Services:
Google Analytics 4Lux
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Google Analytics 4
Marketing Tools:
GA4 analyticsLux performance monitoring
Transparency Level:excellent

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Official UK government website with comprehensive public service information

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

70/100
Score

Weak X-Frame-Options configuration

LOW

Current value: "ALLOWALL"

Weak X-Content-Type-Options configuration

LOW

Current value: "nosniff, nosniff"

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

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

83/100
Score

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 Policy85% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

2/100
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

Critical sector without clear security compliance

HIGH

Detected sectors: energy, transport, banking, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

0/100
Score

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'default' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'google' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'k1' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'k2' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'selector1' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'selector2' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'mail' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'email' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 'dkim' uses 32-bit key

Weak DKIM Key

HIGH

DKIM selector 's1' uses 32-bit key

Strict DMARC Alignment

LOW

Strict alignment may cause legitimate emails to fail

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 -all
DNS Lookups:0/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:default(32-bit rsa)
Selector:google(32-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(32-bit rsa)
Selector:k2(32-bit rsa)
Selector:selector1(32-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(32-bit rsa)
Selector:mail(32-bit rsa)
Selector:email(32-bit rsa)
Selector:dkim(32-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(32-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:dmarc-rua@dmarc.service.gov.uk
MTA-STS Details

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

100/100
Score

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:www.gov.uk
Issuer:GlobalSign RSA OV SSL CA 2018
Valid Until:12/17/2025 (101 days)
SANs:www.gov.uk, *.businesslink.gov.uk, *.direct.gov.uk +10 more

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

70/100
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 Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
29 years(mature)
Protection Level
none
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:151.101.0.144, 151.101.64.144, 151.101.128.144, 151.101.192.144
AAAA Records:2a04:4e42:e00::144, 2a04:4e42:200::144, 2a04:4e42::144, 2a04:4e42:800::144, 2a04:4e42:600::144, 2a04:4e42:a00::144, 2a04:4e42:400::144, 2a04:4e42:c00::144
Name Servers:
dns1.nic.ukDNS only
dns2.nic.ukDNS only
dns3.nic.ukDNS only
dns4.nic.ukDNS only
nsa.nic.ukDNS only
nsb.nic.ukDNS only
nsc.nic.ukDNS only
nsd.nic.ukDNS only
SOA:Serial: 1757084302, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:122ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 -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 a modern, custom government CMS platform utilizing GOV.UK Frontend components and JavaScript ES modules. Performance monitoring is integrated via Lux, and user analytics are collected through Google Analytics 4. The site is optimized for mobile devices and accessibility, adhering to government standards. Hosting appears to be managed by UK government infrastructure with direct domain registration through Nominet. The technical implementation is clean, with no broken elements or errors detected. Opportunities exist to further enhance security headers and formalize vulnerability disclosure mechanisms to reduce technical risk.
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