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Is sparcopen.org a Scam? Security Check Results - SPARC

sparcopen.org Security Report Summary

sparcopen.org received a security score of 60 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Moderate Risk". This report covers SPARC's website security posture. SPARC operates in the Education industry in United States.

SPARC is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to advancing open access, open data, and open education globally. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content targeting researchers, educators, and policy makers. It serves as a resource hub and advocacy platform, promoting open knowledge sharing as a human right. The organization maintains a consistent brand identity and offers key services including policy advocacy, educational resources, and community engagement. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with Bootstrap and jQuery, hosted behind Cloudflare DNS, and uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate. While performance and mobile optimization are good, some technical improvements are recommended such as updating outdated libraries and enabling DNSSEC. Security posture is solid but could be enhanced by adding security headers and formal security policies. Privacy compliance is mostly addressed with a clear privacy policy and terms of use, though cookie consent mechanisms are absent. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and aligned with its mission.

The security scan identified 32 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: WordPress, Bootstrap 3.3.5, jQuery 1.9.1, Font Awesome 4.4.0, Cloudflare DNS.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and AI-powered business intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

S

Is sparcopen.org Safe? Security Analysis for SPARC

https://sparcopen.org

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

EducationUnited Statesmedium
WordPressBootstrap 3.3.5jQuery 1.9.1Font Awesome 4.4.0Cloudflare DNS
Analyzed 7/10/2025Completed 2:23:15 AM8mo ago
60
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Above Education avg (55)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domainsparcopen.org
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SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

AI Summary

SPARC is a well-established non-profit organization dedicated to advancing open access, open data, and open education globally. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content targeting researchers, educators, and policy makers. It serves as a resource hub and advocacy platform, promoting open knowledge sharing as a human right. The organization maintains a consistent brand identity and offers key services including policy advocacy, educational resources, and community engagement. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with Bootstrap and jQuery, hosted behind Cloudflare DNS, and uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate. While performance and mobile optimization are good, some technical improvements are recommended such as updating outdated libraries and enabling DNSSEC. Security posture is solid but could be enhanced by adding security headers and formal security policies. Privacy compliance is mostly addressed with a clear privacy policy and terms of use, though cookie consent mechanisms are absent. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and aligned with its mission.

Detected Technologies

WordPressBootstrap 3.3.5jQuery 1.9.1Font Awesome 4.4.0Cloudflare DNS

11 urgent findings need attention

11 high

  • + 3 more findings in the full report below
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Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

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Security Headers

8 findings

15/100

GDPR Compliance

4 findings

53/100

NIS2 Compliance

9 findings

2/100

Email Security

3 findings

85/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

SPARC occupies a strong position in the education and open access advocacy sector, leveraging a membership-based non-profit model. Its market advantage lies in its global recognition and comprehensive resources supporting open knowledge initiatives. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, grants, and donations. The target audience includes academic institutions, researchers, and policy makers interested in open science and education. The organization actively engages through events, news, and impact stories, fostering a collaborative ecosystem. Partnerships with major platforms and social media presence enhance its outreach. The domain age and WHOIS data support legitimacy and continuity. Strategic growth could focus on expanding digital engagement and enhancing compliance frameworks.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and domain status protections in place. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represent gaps that could be exploited. The use of an outdated jQuery version introduces potential vulnerabilities. No incident response or security policy information is publicly available, which may hinder rapid response to threats. Data protection practices appear sound with anti-spam honeypot fields in forms, but cookie consent is missing, which could affect GDPR compliance. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a non-profit but would benefit from enhancements to align with best practices and regulatory requirements.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

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

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

SPARC

Description:

SPARC is a global organization committed to making Open the default mode for all research and education, empowering people to solve big problems and make new discoveries through the adoption of Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education.

Key Services:
Advocacy for open access policiesEducational resources and webinarsMembership and community buildingPolicy development and supportEvents and news dissemination
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressBootstrap 3.3.5jQuery 1.9.1Font Awesome 4.4.0Cloudflare DNS
Frameworks:
Bootstrap
Platforms:
WordPress
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDeleteProhibited domain status
  • Use of Cloudflare nameservers
  • Honeypot anti-spam fields in forms

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Simple Analytics
Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Simple Analytics
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 professionally designed and well maintained

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🛡️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
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, digital

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📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

85/100
Score

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 include:spf.memberzone.com include:relay.mailchannels.net ~all
DNS Lookups:3/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)

🏆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 39 days

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:sparcopen.org
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:8/18/2025 (39 days)
SANs:sparcopen.org, *.sparcopen.org

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

No DMARC Record

MEDIUM

DMARC policy not configured

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
9 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
medium(expired)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:188.114.96.1, 188.114.97.1
AAAA Records:2606:4700:3031::6815:e99, 2606:4700:3032::ac43:cbc0
Name Servers:
leia.ns.cloudflare.com
norman.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
1: aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx2.googlemail.com
10: aspmx3.googlemail.com
SOA:Serial: 2374162106, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:78ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.memberzone.com include:relay.mailchannels.net ~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

How does sparcopen.org compare?

See how sparcopen.org stacks up against similar websites in the same industry.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using Bootstrap 3.3.5 and jQuery 1.9.1, indicating a somewhat dated but stable technology stack. Hosting is supported by Cloudflare DNS services, enhancing availability and some security aspects. The site uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate, ensuring encrypted communications. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, especially by updating libraries and leveraging modern JavaScript frameworks. Accessibility and SEO are well addressed with proper meta tags, structured data (JSON-LD), and responsive design. Technical debt is present in the form of older dependencies and missing DNSSEC. Modernization opportunities include upgrading to newer Bootstrap and jQuery versions and implementing advanced security controls to reduce risk.
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Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domainsparcopen.org
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

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