Is hacktoberfest.com Safe? Security Analysis for DigitalOcean, LLC
Check if hacktoberfest.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
Hacktoberfest.com is the official website for Hacktoberfest, a globally recognized month-long event celebrating open-source contributions. Sponsored primarily by DigitalOcean and Major League Hacking (MLH), the platform encourages developers worldwide to contribute to open-source projects. The website effectively communicates the event's purpose, sponsors, and participation details, targeting developers and open-source enthusiasts. The business model centers on community engagement and sponsorship, positioning Hacktoberfest as a leading event in the open-source ecosystem. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies including React and Next.js, hosted on DigitalOcean infrastructure with Cloudflare DNS services. The site demonstrates excellent performance, mobile optimization, and accessibility. SEO practices are well implemented with comprehensive metadata and Open Graph tags enhancing social sharing. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with strong domain registration protections. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and there is no visible cookie consent mechanism or published security policy, which are areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The WHOIS data aligns well with the business claims, showing a long-standing domain registration and reputable registrar. Overall, Hacktoberfest.com is a professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained platform with strong community and business backing. Strategic enhancements in privacy compliance and security transparency would further strengthen its posture.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
Hacktoberfest.com holds a strong market position as a premier open-source community event, backed by DigitalOcean and MLH. Its competitive advantage lies in its established brand, extensive community reach, and sponsorship ecosystem. The business model focuses on fostering open-source contributions through events and community engagement rather than direct revenue generation. Target customers include developers, open-source maintainers, and technology companies interested in community building. Growth indicators include increasing participant numbers and expanding sponsor partnerships. The partnership ecosystem includes major technology players like GitHub, GitLab, and AMD, enhancing credibility and reach. Operationally, the platform is well integrated with modern cloud infrastructure and community tools like Discord.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protections such as clientDeleteProhibited and clientTransferProhibited statuses. No exposed sensitive information or vulnerable libraries were found. However, the absence of DNSSEC and lack of published security policies or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicate room for improvement. Incident response contact information is not publicly available, which could hinder timely reporting of security issues. Privacy compliance is supported by a comprehensive privacy policy, but the lack of a cookie consent mechanism may pose GDPR compliance risks. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could benefit from enhanced transparency and technical controls.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
DigitalOcean, LLC
Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open-source projects, their maintainers, and the entire community of contributors. It is sponsored by DigitalOcean and MLH and aims to encourage contributions to open source.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Domain locked with clientDeleteProhibited and clientTransferProhibited statuses
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- No vulnerable libraries detected
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking mechanisms.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing Strict-Transport-Security header
HIGHForces HTTPS connections
Missing X-Frame-Options header
HIGHPrevents clickjacking attacks
Missing X-Content-Type-Options header
MEDIUMPrevents MIME type sniffing
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
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
No SPF record found
HIGHSPF helps prevent email spoofing
No DMARC reporting
LOWDMARC aggregate reports not configured
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
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 62 days
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 Registration Details
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
⚡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