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Is usagm.gov a Scam? Security Check Results - United States Agency for Global Media Reviews

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Is usagm.gov Safe? Security Analysis for United States Agency for Global Media

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

GovernmentUnited Stateslarge
WordPress 6.6.2jQuery 3.7.1Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerFont Awesome+3 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 3:33:54 PM
63
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is an independent federal agency responsible for overseeing public service media networks that provide unbiased news and information globally, particularly in countries with restricted press freedom. The agency's mission focuses on informing, engaging, and connecting people worldwide in support of freedom and democracy. USAGM operates multiple subsidiary networks including VOA, RFERL, OCB, RFA, MBN, and OTF, positioning itself as a key player in international broadcasting and media development. Technically, the USAGM website is built on a modern WordPress CMS platform, utilizing contemporary web technologies such as jQuery, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and various plugins for enhanced user experience and analytics. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure suitable for a large government entity. From a security perspective, the website enforces HTTPS with valid SSL certificates and displays official U.S. government trust indicators. However, it lacks some advanced security headers and explicit incident response contact information. Privacy compliance is partially addressed with a comprehensive privacy policy and a vulnerability disclosure policy, though cookie consent mechanisms are not evident. The WHOIS data is restricted, which is typical for U.S. government domains, but this limits domain registration transparency. Overall, USAGM's website presents a professional, trustworthy, and secure digital presence aligned with its government mandate. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, improving privacy compliance with cookie consent, and publishing detailed security policies to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Detected Technologies

WordPress 6.6.2jQuery 3.7.1Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerFont AwesomeAnimate It pluginContact Form 7 pluginTiq Tag Manager

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

USAGM holds a unique market position as the official U.S. government agency managing international public service media. Its competitive advantage lies in its government backing, extensive global reach through multiple subsidiary networks, and focus on unbiased news in restricted press environments. The agency's business model is government-funded, emphasizing public diplomacy and information dissemination rather than commercial revenue. Target customers include global audiences in countries with limited press freedom, policymakers, and international stakeholders. Growth indicators include recent strategic moves such as relocating headquarters to reduce costs and expanding media development initiatives. The partnership ecosystem includes various U.S. government entities and international media organizations. Operationally, USAGM maintains a strong digital presence with consistent branding and transparent communication channels.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

USAGM demonstrates a solid security posture with mandatory HTTPS enforcement and use of official .gov domain, which inherently provides trust and security assurances. The website avoids exposing sensitive data and employs recognized analytics and tag management tools. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. Incident response mechanisms and security contact channels are not explicitly published, which could hinder rapid response to security incidents. Privacy compliance is partial, lacking cookie consent mechanisms and GDPR-specific disclosures. Overall, the security maturity is good for a government site but could benefit from enhanced header policies and transparency in security operations.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

United States Agency for Global Media

Description:

The United States Agency for Global Media is an independent federal agency overseeing public service media networks that provide unbiased news and information in countries where the press is restricted. Its mission is to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.

Key Services:
International broadcastingMedia developmentInternet freedom initiativesPublic service media oversight
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPress 6.6.2jQuery 3.7.1Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerFont AwesomeAnimate It pluginContact Form 7 pluginTiq Tag Manager
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Official .gov domain
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security disclaimers and official badges

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsDigitalGov AnalyticsTiq Tag Manager
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Tiq Tag ManagerDigitalGov Analytics
Marketing Tools:
Tiq Tag Manager
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 U.S. government website with .gov TLD

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

30/100
Score

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

35/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

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 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

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:usagm.gov._nspf.valigov.email include:%{i}._ip.%{h}._ehlo.%{d}._spf.valigov.email ~all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:dmarc_agg@valigov.email
Forensic Reports:dmarcfeedback@usagm.gov

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

85/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 38 days

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:www.usagm.gov
Issuer:R10
Valid Until:10/14/2025 (38 days)
SANs:2016.bbg.gov, 2017.bbg.gov, annualreport2014.bbg.gov +33 more

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

30/100
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 Expired

CRITICAL

Domain expired 37 days ago

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
7 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
expired(expired)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Domain expired 37 days ago
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:23.61.238.131
AAAA Records:2a02:26f0:41:693::a49, 2a02:26f0:41:6a2::a49
Name Servers:
a1-222.akam.net
a11-64.akam.net
a12-65.akam.net
a2-64.akam.net
a7-66.akam.net
a8-67.akam.net
MX Records:
0: usagm-gov.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 1557177672, TTL: 7200s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:98ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:usagm.gov._nspf.valigov.email include:%{i}._ip.%{h}._ehlo.%{d}._spf.valigov.email ~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 USAGM website is built on WordPress 6.6.2, leveraging a suite of modern JavaScript libraries and plugins such as jQuery 3.7.1, Animate It, and Contact Form 7 for enhanced interactivity and user engagement. Analytics are managed through Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and DigitalGov Analytics, indicating a mature data collection strategy. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features, contributing to a positive user experience. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of scripts and use of CDN-hosted resources. Technical debt appears minimal, though opportunities exist to modernize security headers and enhance privacy compliance mechanisms. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified from the data.
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