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Is spacetelescope.org a Scam? Security Check Results - STScI Reviews

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Is spacetelescope.org Safe? Security Analysis for STScI

Check if spacetelescope.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentUnited Statesmedium
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQueryYouTube Iframe API+3 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 9:59:14 AM
61
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The ESA/Hubble website is a professionally maintained portal dedicated to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, operated by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). It serves as an authoritative source for news, images, videos, and educational content related to space science and astronomy, targeting a broad audience including scientists, educators, students, and space enthusiasts. The site demonstrates consistent branding aligned with ESA and NASA, and offers extensive multimedia content and outreach initiatives. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including JavaScript libraries, social media SDKs, and CDN services, ensuring fast performance and good mobile optimization. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain registration locked, although some improvements are recommended such as enabling DNSSEC and adding security headers. Privacy compliance is partial, with a privacy policy present but lacking cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the website is trustworthy, content-rich, and well-positioned as a key educational and informational resource in the space science domain.

Detected Technologies

HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQueryYouTube Iframe APIFacebook SDKTwitter WidgetsSlick Carousel

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

ESA/Hubble operates as a non-commercial, government-affiliated informational platform under STScI, focusing on disseminating scientific knowledge and public outreach. Its market position is strong within the astronomy and space science community, leveraging partnerships with ESA, NASA, and other scientific institutions. The business model centers on education and public engagement rather than revenue generation. The website supports multiple content streams including news releases, image and video archives, newsletters, and educational projects. Growth indicators include active social media presence and regular content updates. The partnership ecosystem includes ESA, STScI, NOIRLab, and other space agencies, enhancing credibility and reach.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (1)

i*****@eso.org

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protected by multiple EPP status locks. Hosting and DNS services are provided by Cloudflare, adding CDN and DDoS protection layers. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents areas for enhancement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contacts limits transparency and preparedness communication. Privacy compliance gaps include missing cookie consent mechanisms, which may affect GDPR adherence. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from adopting additional best practices and formal security disclosures.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

STScI

Description:

The ESA page for the Hubble Space Telescope, a space-based observatory that revolutionised modern astronomy, providing news, images, videos, and educational resources related to Hubble and space science.

Key Services:
News releasesImage and video archivesEducational materialsScience newslettersPublic outreach
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQueryYouTube Iframe APIFacebook SDKTwitter WidgetsSlick Carousel
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited and other EPP locks
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of reputable CDN and DNS provider (Cloudflare)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsCloudflare Insights
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Cloudflare Insights
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a professionally maintained official ESA/Hubble portal.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

15/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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
emailphone

🛡️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

70/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DMARC reporting

LOW

DMARC aggregate reports not configured

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:dc-aa8e722993._spfm.esahubble.org include:mailgun.org include:_spf.google.com ~all
DNS Lookups:3/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none

🏆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 51 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

2 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:esahubble.org
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:10/27/2025 (51 days)
SANs:esahubble.org, *.esahubble.org

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
5 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(245 days)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:172.67.204.133, 104.21.66.140
AAAA Records:2606:4700:3036::ac43:cc85, 2606:4700:3031::6815:428c
Name Servers:
fay.ns.cloudflare.com
jack.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
1: aspmx.l.google.com
SOA:Serial: 2379252426, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:62ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:dc-aa8e722993._spfm.esahubble.org include:mailgun.org include:_spf.google.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 uses a modern and performant technology stack including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, and slick carousel for UI components. It integrates social media SDKs from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for enhanced user engagement. Hosting is via Cloudflare, providing CDN and security benefits. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and includes SEO-friendly meta tags and Open Graph data. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary content management system. Performance is fast with no broken elements observed. Accessibility is basic but functional. Opportunities exist to improve accessibility and implement more advanced SEO and security features.
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