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Is legislation.gov.uk a Scam? Security Check Results - The National Archives Reviews

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Is legislation.gov.uk Safe? Security Analysis for The National Archives

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

GovernmentUnited Kingdomlarge
jQuery 3.7.1Google Tag ManagerCSS stylesheetsJavaScript
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 5:38:24 AM
59
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Legislation.gov.uk is the official UK government website managed by The National Archives, providing comprehensive access to UK legislation from 1267 to present. It serves a broad audience including legal professionals, researchers, and the general public by offering authoritative legislative documents and tools for search and browsing. The website is positioned as a trusted government resource with a clear mandate to publish legislation on behalf of HM Government. Technically, the site uses a traditional web stack including jQuery and Google Tag Manager for analytics, with multiple CSS stylesheets for layout and print. The site is moderately optimized for performance and mobile devices, with good accessibility features and SEO practices. Cookie consent is implemented effectively, respecting user privacy preferences. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and implements cookie consent mechanisms to comply with privacy regulations. However, it lacks explicit published security policies, incident response information, and advanced security headers. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the provided content. The WHOIS data confirms the domain's legitimacy as a UK government entity, enhancing trust. Overall, Legislation.gov.uk demonstrates a strong business credibility and content quality with minor technical and security improvements recommended to enhance transparency and protection. The site is safe for general audiences and does not contain any adult or questionable content.

Detected Technologies

jQuery 3.7.1Google Tag ManagerCSS stylesheetsJavaScript

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Legislation.gov.uk operates as a government service under The National Archives, focusing on publishing and maintaining UK legislation. Its market position is authoritative and unique as the official source for UK legal documents. The business model is non-commercial, providing free access to legislation to support transparency and legal research. The target customers include legal professionals, academics, government officials, and the public. The site integrates with partner government domains and EU legislative resources, indicating a strong partnership ecosystem. Growth indicators include continuous updates and subscription feeds for new legislation. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining trust and compliance with data protection laws while expanding digital accessibility.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enabled and cookie consent mechanisms in place. The absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure processes indicates room for improvement in security governance. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found. The use of Google Tag Manager is conditional on user consent, reflecting good privacy practices. Compliance with GDPR is implied through cookie management and privacy notices. Incident response readiness and security culture indicators are not publicly documented, which could be enhanced to improve stakeholder confidence and regulatory compliance.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security frameworks and practices.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

The National Archives

Description:

The official home of UK legislation, revised and as enacted 1267-present. Managed by The National Archives on behalf of HM Government, publishing all UK legislation as part of His Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) and the Office of the King's Printer for Scotland.

Key Services:
Publishing UK legislationProviding search and browse tools for legislationSubscription feeds for new legislation updates
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQuery 3.7.1Google Tag ManagerCSS stylesheetsJavaScript
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

basic

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • Removal of Google Analytics cookies if consent not given

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is an official UK government service providing legislation data.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

60/100
Score

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

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

68/100
Score

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 Policy85% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
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

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

40/100
Score

No SPF record found

HIGH

SPF helps prevent email spoofing

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

No email authentication configured

CRITICAL

Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

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

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

67/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

8 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

40/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Potential Subdomain Takeover

HIGH

Subdomain staging.legislation.gov.uk points to unregistered service djk27kgiy8rmw.cloudfront.net

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

No DMARC Record

MEDIUM

DMARC policy not configured

Domain Registration Details

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

DNS Records

A Records:3.9.25.107, 3.11.130.99, 13.134.39.245
Name Servers:
ns-1469.awsdns-55.orgDNS only
ns-1798.awsdns-32.co.ukDNS only
ns-356.awsdns-44.comDNS only
ns-526.awsdns-01.netDNS only
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:78ms

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 uses a stable and mature technology stack centered on jQuery and traditional JavaScript with multiple CSS stylesheets for styling. Google Tag Manager is used for analytics with cookie consent gating. The site structure is clear with accessible navigation and search forms tailored for legislative content. Performance is moderate with potential for improvement in mobile responsiveness. No modern CMS or frameworks were detected, suggesting a custom or legacy platform. Technical risks include lack of advanced security headers and limited published security documentation. Opportunities exist to modernize the tech stack and improve accessibility and SEO further.
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