Is vatican.va Safe? Security Analysis for The Holy See
Check if vatican.va is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The website www.vatican.va is the official online presence of the Holy See, providing authoritative access to papal teachings, Catholic Church documents, and information about the Roman Curia and liturgical celebrations. It serves a global audience interested in Catholicism, including clergy, researchers, and the general public. The site is multilingual and well-structured, reflecting the institutional nature of the Vatican. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies such as jQuery, Bootstrap 5, Swiper.js, and Google Tag Manager, and is likely powered by Adobe Experience Manager CMS. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of scripts. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with excellent SSL configuration and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, it lacks visible security headers and does not provide explicit privacy or cookie policies, which impacts its compliance posture. No contact information for security incidents or vulnerability disclosure is found. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional, with high business credibility but room for improvement in privacy compliance and security best practices. No adult or questionable content is present, making it safe for general audiences.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
The Holy See operates as a sovereign entity and religious institution, with this website serving as its official digital communication channel. It holds a unique market position as the central authority of the Catholic Church worldwide. The business model is informational and institutional, focusing on disseminating religious teachings, official documents, and news. Revenue streams are not applicable in the traditional sense, as the entity is non-commercial. The target customers are global Catholics, scholars, and those interested in Vatican affairs. The site links to official Vatican news and press offices, indicating a strong partnership ecosystem within Vatican media. Growth indicators include multilingual content and event calendars for upcoming papal activities.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS and no visible security flaws in the HTML content. The use of Google Tag Manager is implemented asynchronously, reducing performance impact. However, the absence of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security is a gap. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact reduces transparency and readiness for security incidents. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is present, which is a best practice for institutional websites. Overall, the site is secure but could enhance its security culture and compliance by publishing relevant policies and headers.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie policy accessible from the homepage footer.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
The Holy See
Official website of the Holy See providing access to the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs, fundamental Catholic texts in multiple languages, documents of the Roman Curia, and information about liturgical celebrations and the College of Cardinals.
good
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Use of Google Tag Manager asynchronously
- No visible exposed sensitive data
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Official Vatican website with authoritative content on Catholicism and Vatican affairs.
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration
LOWCurrent value: "max-age=15768000; includeSubDomains; preload"
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-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
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 vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
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 vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
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
DMARC not enforcing
MEDIUMDMARC policy is set to "none"
No DKIM record found
MEDIUMDKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails
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
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM1 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
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
DMARC Policy Set to None
LOWDMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy
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