Is nih.gov Safe? Security Analysis for National Institutes of Health
Check if nih.gov is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a premier U.S. government medical research agency under the Department of Health and Human Services. It provides extensive health information, research funding, clinical trials, and training resources targeting a broad audience including the public, researchers, and medical professionals. The website reflects a strong market position as a federal health research leader with a comprehensive service portfolio. Technically, the NIH website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern analytics and tracking tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Crazy Egg. The site demonstrates excellent performance, mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, ensuring a high-quality user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, uses external link security attributes, and maintains a vulnerability disclosure policy. However, it lacks explicit security headers and a cookie consent mechanism, which are recommended for enhanced security and privacy compliance. The WHOIS data is incomplete but the .gov domain and official content strongly support legitimacy. Overall, NIH's website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, with minor areas for improvement in security headers and privacy consent mechanisms to further strengthen its security posture and compliance.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
NIH operates as a government entity focused on biomedical research and public health information dissemination. Its business model centers on funding research, providing educational resources, and supporting clinical trials. The agency's target customers include scientists, healthcare providers, patients, educators, and the general public. NIH benefits from strong government backing, extensive partnerships, and a well-established reputation. The website's content and structure support NIH's mission to advance health research and public trust. The organization leverages digital tools to enhance outreach and engagement, with a clear emphasis on transparency and accessibility. Growth indicators include ongoing research initiatives and funding programs. Strategic observations highlight NIH's role as a critical government health research institution with a broad ecosystem of related domains and services.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Physical Addresses (1)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
NIH's website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, secure external linking practices, and a publicly available vulnerability disclosure policy. The absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a minor gap. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The site does not display incident response contact emails or a security.txt file, which could improve incident handling transparency. Overall, NIH maintains a strong security culture consistent with government standards but could enhance defenses with additional headers and privacy consent mechanisms.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement and enforce security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
excellent
excellent
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- External links use noreferrer and nofollow
- Security and vulnerability disclosure policy linked
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official U.S. government website with .gov domain
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
👤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
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 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 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 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
SPF Details
DKIM Selectors Found
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 44 days
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM2 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
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
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
Domain Registration Details
- •Privacy/proxy registration detected
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
SPF Analysis
⚡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