Is hardhat.org Safe? Security Analysis for Nomic Foundation
Check if hardhat.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
Hardhat.org is the official website for Hardhat, an Ethereum development environment designed for professional blockchain developers. Operated by the Nomic Foundation, the platform offers a comprehensive suite of tools including Solidity compilation, local Ethereum network simulation, debugging with Solidity stack traces, and deployment automation via Hardhat Ignition. The website positions Hardhat as a leading solution in the Ethereum developer ecosystem, emphasizing performance improvements through a Rust-powered runtime and multi-chain support. The target audience is primarily Ethereum developers and blockchain professionals seeking efficient and extensible development tools. Technically, the website is built on a modern stack featuring Next.js and React for the frontend, with backend components implemented in Rust for performance. Hosting is provided by Vercel, ensuring fast load times and excellent mobile optimization. The site integrates Google Analytics for user tracking and employs standard SEO and accessibility best practices. Privacy and cookie policies are present with consent mechanisms, reflecting good compliance with GDPR requirements. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses domain status locks to prevent unauthorized domain changes. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and no explicit security or incident response policies are published on the site. The domain is privacy-protected via Domains By Proxy, LLC, which is typical for tech projects and justified here. No critical vulnerabilities or suspicious patterns were detected. Overall, Hardhat.org demonstrates a strong security posture, excellent content quality, and a professional business presence. Recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, publishing a security policy, and providing explicit contact information for security incidents to further enhance trust and compliance.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
Hardhat.org serves as the digital presence for Nomic Foundation's flagship Ethereum development environment. The project enjoys a strong market position as a leading tool for Solidity smart contract development, supported by a vibrant open-source community on GitHub and active engagement on social media platforms like Twitter and Discord. The business model revolves around providing open-source developer tools with potential revenue streams from enterprise support or partnerships. The platform's extensible plugin ecosystem and multi-chain simulation capabilities offer competitive advantages. Growth indicators include recent active releases and a well-maintained blog sharing technical insights. Strategic partnerships with services like Alchemy and Etherscan enhance the ecosystem integration. The absence of direct contact information suggests a focus on community-driven support channels.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protections in place. The absence of DNSSEC is a minor gap that could be addressed to improve DNS security. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which limits transparency for security researchers. The site does not expose sensitive data or use vulnerable libraries based on the analysis. Privacy compliance is supported by clear cookie consent mechanisms and a privacy policy. Incident response readiness is unclear due to lack of published contact channels for security issues. Overall, the security culture appears professional but could benefit from enhanced communication and formalized policies.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Enable DNSSEC to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Nomic Foundation
Hardhat is an Ethereum development environment. Compile your contracts and run them on a development network. Get Solidity stack traces, console.log and more.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited, clientRenewProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is a professional Ethereum development environment platform by Nomic Foundation.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
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
No Data Protection Officer mentioned
LOWLarge organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR
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
📧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 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
No email authentication configured
CRITICALDomain is vulnerable to email spoofing
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Weak Protocols Supported
HIGHServer supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1
OCSP Stapling Not Enabled
LOWOCSP stapling improves performance and privacy
Certificate Transparency Not Implemented
LOWCertificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 85 days
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Protocol Support
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
No DMARC Record
MEDIUMDMARC policy not configured
Domain Registration Details
- •Privacy/proxy registration detected
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