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Is investor.gov a Scam? Security Check Results - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Reviews

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Is investor.gov Safe? Security Analysis for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

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

FinanceUnited Statesenterprise
Drupal CMSGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerFINRA IAPD WidgetUSWDS (U.S. Web Design System)
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:48:10 AM
69
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Investor.gov is the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), providing comprehensive investor education, protection resources, and financial planning tools. The site targets individual investors, older investors, military personnel, teachers, veterans, youth, and entrepreneurs, offering a wide range of services including fraud alerts, investment professional background checks, and complaint submission channels. It serves as a trusted government resource to promote informed investment decisions and protect investors from fraud and scams. Technically, the website is built on the Drupal CMS platform, leveraging modern web technologies such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) for consistent government branding and accessibility. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and performs moderately well. Security is robust with enforced HTTPS, secure forms, and no exposed sensitive data, although some security headers could be enhanced. The security posture is strong, with no detected vulnerabilities or phishing indicators. Privacy compliance is good, with a comprehensive privacy policy and vulnerability disclosure policy publicly available. The site does not use intrusive advertising or affiliate marketing, maintaining transparency and user trust. Overall, Investor.gov demonstrates a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and commitment to user security and privacy.

Detected Technologies

Drupal CMSGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerFINRA IAPD WidgetUSWDS (U.S. Web Design System)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Investor.gov holds a strong market position as the official U.S. government portal for investor education and protection, operated by the SEC. Its business model is non-commercial, focusing on public service and regulatory compliance. The site benefits from government backing, ensuring credibility and authority. It offers a broad ecosystem of resources, including financial calculators, alerts, and educational content, targeting diverse investor demographics. The partnership ecosystem includes links to other government sites such as SEC.gov, MyMoney.gov, and USA.gov, reinforcing its authoritative network. Growth indicators include regular content updates and active engagement with investor protection initiatives. The site’s operations emphasize transparency, education, and fraud prevention, positioning it as a critical resource in the financial regulatory landscape. Its strategic focus on accessibility and comprehensive content supports its mission to empower investors and maintain market integrity.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

Investor.gov exhibits a mature security posture appropriate for a government website. HTTPS is enforced site-wide, ensuring encrypted communications. The absence of exposed sensitive data and the use of secure forms indicate adherence to best practices. While explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not evident in the HTML source, the overall security framework is strong given the official .gov domain and government hosting. No vulnerabilities or malware were detected. Privacy policies and vulnerability disclosure policies are published, demonstrating compliance and transparency. Incident response contact details are not explicitly found but may be managed internally by the SEC. The site’s security culture appears robust, with a focus on protecting users from fraud and misinformation. Recommendations include enhancing HTTP security headers and DNSSEC implementation to further strengthen defenses.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and publish comprehensive HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Description:

Investor.gov is the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission providing investor education, protection resources, financial tools, and alerts to help individuals make informed investment decisions.

Key Services:
Investor education contentFinancial planning tools and calculatorsAlerts and bulletins on fraud and scamsInvestment professional background checksComplaint submission and help resources
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Drupal CMSGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerFINRA IAPD WidgetUSWDS (U.S. Web Design System)
Frameworks:
Drupal
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

excellent

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens (Drupal standard)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of official government domain (.gov)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerDigital Analytics Program
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Digital Analytics Program (dap.digitalgov.gov)
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 U.S. government website with .gov domain

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

70/100
Score

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

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

53/100
Score

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

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 Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

20/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

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 NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

Critical sector without clear security compliance

HIGH

Detected sectors: energy, transport, banking, health, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

70/100
Score

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

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
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:DMARC@sec.gov

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

70/100
Score

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:www.sec.gov
Issuer:DigiCert Global G3 TLS ECC SHA384 2020 CA1
Valid Until:4/4/2026 (210 days)
SANs:www.sec.gov, regandsurvey.sec.gov, xbrl.sec.gov +43 more

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

85/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
17 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(341 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:23.78.37.154
Name Servers:
a1-32.akam.net
a18-65.akam.net
a20-66.akam.net
a3-67.akam.net
a6-64.akam.net
a7-65.akam.net
SOA:Serial: 2020112919, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:73ms

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 Drupal CMS, a widely used and secure content management system, ensuring a solid technical foundation. Integration with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager supports effective user behavior tracking and analytics. The use of the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) ensures consistent government branding, accessibility, and responsive design.
Performance is moderate, with room for optimization in loading times and resource management. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, meeting modern web standards. Technical debt appears minimal, but opportunities exist to enhance security headers and DNS configurations. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the site’s mission effectively with a stable and maintainable platform.
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