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Is md.gov a Scam? Security Check Results - State of Maryland Reviews

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Is md.gov Safe? Security Analysis for State of Maryland

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

GovernmentUnited Statesenterprise
jQuery 3.6.0BootstrapGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsMicrosoft SharePoint 2013/2016 (SPFx)+6 more
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 1:59:28 AM
65
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Maryland.gov is the official digital portal for the State of Maryland, providing a centralized platform for residents, businesses, visitors, and government employees to access a wide range of state government services and information. The website serves as a comprehensive resource for online services, job listings, business registrations, government contacts, and educational resources, positioning itself as the authoritative source for Maryland state government digital interactions. The site demonstrates consistent branding and high content quality, reflecting its role as a trusted government entity. Technically, the website leverages a mature technology stack including Microsoft SharePoint, ASP.NET Web Forms, jQuery, Bootstrap, and integrates modern analytics and accessibility tools such as Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Monsido. The platform is well-optimized for mobile devices and incorporates accessibility best practices, ensuring broad usability. Hosting appears to be managed by state infrastructure with partial Cloudflare services for analytics. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with a strong SSL configuration and employs security tokens to protect form submissions. While some security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not explicitly detected, the overall posture is strong with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is supported by a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service, with GDPR considerations addressed. The domain's WHOIS data is incomplete, likely due to .gov domain registry policies, but the .gov TLD and website content strongly affirm legitimacy. Overall, Maryland.gov presents a secure, professional, and user-friendly government portal with robust technical infrastructure and compliance measures. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a security.txt file for vulnerability disclosure, and continuous auditing of third-party scripts to maintain security integrity.

Detected Technologies

jQuery 3.6.0BootstrapGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsMicrosoft SharePoint 2013/2016 (SPFx)Microsoft ASP.NET Web FormsGoogle Custom Search EngineClarity (Microsoft)Monsido (Accessibility and Analytics)Zaraz (Cloudflare related analytics)Google Translate integration

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Maryland.gov operates as an essential government entity portal, serving a broad audience including residents, businesses, visitors, and state employees. Its market position is that of the primary official digital presence for Maryland state government, offering centralized access to a wide array of public services and information. The business model is non-commercial, funded by the state government, focusing on service delivery and transparency. Key competitive advantages include official .gov domain status, comprehensive service coverage, and integration with multiple state agencies and initiatives. The website supports growth through digital transformation initiatives and partnerships with various state departments. The partnership ecosystem includes multiple Maryland state agencies and external service providers for payments and registrations. Operationally, the site demonstrates maturity with modern web technologies and accessibility compliance, supporting the state's digital government strategy.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (1)

187*******

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

Maryland.gov exhibits a mature security posture appropriate for a government portal. HTTPS is enforced with excellent SSL configuration, and form submissions are protected with anti-forgery tokens. The site integrates security and analytics tools responsibly, with no exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries detected. However, some standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options are not explicitly present, representing an area for improvement. Privacy policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, supporting data protection requirements. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not prominently visible, suggesting potential gaps in transparency and readiness. Overall, the site balances usability and security well but would benefit from enhanced header policies and formalized vulnerability disclosure processes to strengthen its security culture and compliance posture.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and enforce Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options HTTP headers to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

State of Maryland

Description:

Official portal providing access to Maryland state government services, information, and resources for residents, businesses, visitors, and government employees.

Key Services:
Online ServicesState Employee ResourcesJob ListingsBusiness Licensing and RegistrationsGovernment InformationResident ServicesEducation ResourcesVisitor Information
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQuery 3.6.0BootstrapGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsMicrosoft SharePoint 2013/2016 (SPFx)Microsoft ASP.NET Web FormsGoogle Custom Search EngineClarity (Microsoft)Monsido (Accessibility and Analytics)Zaraz (Cloudflare related analytics)Google Translate integration
Frameworks:
ASP.NET Web FormsSharePoint
Platforms:
Microsoft IISCloudflare (partial usage for zaraz.js)
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security tokens (__REQUESTDIGEST) for form submissions
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsMicrosoft ClarityMonsido
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google Adsense
Tracking Pixels:
Microsoft ClarityMonsido
Marketing Tools:
Google Custom SearchGoogle Translate
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Official state government website with comprehensive public services.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

65/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=15552000; includeSubDomains; preload"

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

58/100
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

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

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, health, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

70/100
Score

Complex SPF record

LOW

Too many include statements can cause lookup limits

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

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 include:_spf.google.com ip4:74.209.171.228 ip4:167.102.227.55 ip4:167.102.240.2 ip4:167.102.241.229 ip4:167.102.241.230 ip4:167.102.240.3 ip4:167.102.25.133 ip4:66.77.73.0/24 ip4:66.77.69.0/24 ip4:184.80.199.48 ip4:23.227.164.145 ip4:136.179.3.130 ip4:107.20.210.250 ip4:52.1.14.157 ip4:142.0.180.170 ip4:142.0.186.121 ip4:149.72.151.35 ip4:149.72.183.8 ip4:149.72.201.153 ip4:149.72.231.47 ip4:149.72.22.42 ip4:149.72.61.106 ip4:159.183.141.212 ip4:159.183.141.213 ip4:159.183.141.214 ip4:149.72.231.47 ip4:149.72.196.66 include:_spf.psm.knowbe4.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:spf.blackboardconnect.com ~all
DNS Lookups:5/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:dkim(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:dmarc.doit@maryland.gov
Forensic Reports:dmarc.doit@maryland.gov

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

65/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 56 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

12 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:maryland.gov
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:11/1/2025 (56 days)
SANs:maryland.gov, *.maryland.gov

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
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 Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
25 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(345 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:104.18.17.121, 104.18.16.121
AAAA Records:2606:4700::6812:1179, 2606:4700::6812:1079
Name Servers:
blue.foundationdns.com
blue.foundationdns.net
blue.foundationdns.org
MX Records:
1: aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
SOA:Serial: 2382567811, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:54ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ip4:74.209.171.228 ip4:167.102.227.55 ip4:167.102.240.2 ip4:167.102.241.229 ip4:167.102.241.230 ip4:167.102.240.3 ip4:167.102.25.133 ip4:66.77.73.0/24 ip4:66.77.69.0/24 ip4:184.80.199.48 ip4:23.227.164.145 ip4:136.179.3.130 ip4:107.20.210.250 ip4:52.1.14.157 ip4:142.0.180.170 ip4:142.0.186.121 ip4:149.72.151.35 ip4:149.72.183.8 ip4:149.72.201.153 ip4:149.72.231.47 ip4:149.72.22.42 ip4:149.72.61.106 ip4:159.183.141.212 ip4:159.183.141.213 ip4:159.183.141.214 ip4:149.72.231.47 ip4:149.72.196.66 include:_spf.psm.knowbe4.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:spf.blackboardconnect.com ~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 Microsoft SharePoint platform using ASP.NET Web Forms, enhanced with jQuery and Bootstrap for responsive design. It integrates Google Custom Search, Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, and Monsido for analytics and accessibility monitoring. The site uses Cloudflare's Zaraz for tag management and tracking. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, though some legacy components like ASP.NET Web Forms remain. Hosting appears to be managed by state infrastructure with partial Cloudflare services. The site uses standard security tokens for form protection but lacks some modern security headers. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a robust, scalable, and accessible government portal with opportunities for security header enhancements and further modernization.
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