Overview
Findings
Actions
Details
Related
AI-Generated Summary
What this means
headstart.io scored 57/100 and does not meet the minimum security posture threshold. The most critical issue is: Set up email authentication (DKIM). This must be addressed before the vendor can be approved for procurement or data processing activities.
Critical gaps in: DMARC / Email Security, HSTS Header, Security Headers. Positive signals: Known Breaches, TLS Configuration, CVE Exposure all passed.
5 action items identified, including 1 critical. The issues are configuration gaps, not architectural problems. A focused remediation effort of 2–5 days could address all findings.
How headstart.io compares
Grade distribution across 2378 companies we've scanned. headstart.io scores better than 19% of them.
71
A+
22
A
180
A-
181
B+
69
B
333
B-
111
C+
111
C
295
C-
110
D+
92
D
216
D-
587
F
headstart.io — Grade F (57/100)
2378 companies scanned
Security checks
Each check inspects a different part of headstart.io's public security setup. Green means healthy, yellow needs attention, red is a problem.
DMARC / Email Security
Issues: No DMARC record found — email spoofing is not prevented; No SPF record found; No DKIM records found for common selectors (domain may use custom selectors — this is not a confirmed gap).
HSTS Header
Strict-Transport-Security header is missing. Connections can be downgraded to HTTP via man-in-the-middle attacks.
Security Headers
Only 0/5 security headers present. Missing: CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy. This exposes the application to clickjacking, MIME-sniffing, and other client-side attacks.
DNS Configuration
Strengths: 2 nameservers configured (bruce.ns.cloudflare.com., ximena.ns.cloudflare.com.); 3 MX records present; Zone transfers properly restricted. Issues: DNSSEC not configured — DNS responses can be spoofed.
Certificate Hygiene
Strengths: Certificate valid, 34 days remaining; Issued by Google Trust Services. Issues: Wildcard certificate in use — broader attack surface if compromised.
Known Breaches
No known breaches found in public disclosure databases.
TLS Configuration
TLSv1.3 negotiated with TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256-bit). Strong configuration with no deprecated protocols or weak ciphers detected.
CVE Exposure
Detected technologies: cloudflare. (cloudflare detected but excluded from CVE matching — upstream infrastructure). All detected technologies are upstream CDN/proxy infrastructure. No application-level software versions exposed.
Recommended actions
5 items
Steps to improve headstart.io's security grade, ranked by impact.
1
Set up email authentication (DMARC, SPF, DKIM)
Without email authentication, anyone can send emails that appear to come from headstart.io. This is the most common vector for phishing attacks targeting employees and customers. DMARC, SPF, DKIM are not configured.
Compliance impact
NIST CSFPR.AC-7
Email authentication is a required access control
ISO 27001A.13.2.1
Information transfer policies require email security controls
HIPAA§164.312(e)
Transmission security for electronic PHI
How to fix this
1
Add SPF record to DNS: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all (adjust for your email provider)
2
Configure DKIM signing with your email provider and publish the public key in DNS
3
Add DMARC record: v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:[email protected]
4
Monitor DMARC reports for 2–4 weeks, then upgrade policy to p=reject
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2
Enable HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)
The HSTS header is missing on headstart.io. Without it, connections can be downgraded from HTTPS to HTTP via man-in-the-middle attacks. This is a straightforward server configuration change.
Compliance impact
PCI-DSS 4.0Req 6.4.1
Required application security controls
NIST 800-53SC-8
Transmission confidentiality and integrity
How to fix this
1
Add header: Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload
2
Verify all subdomains support HTTPS before adding includeSubDomains
3
Test with: curl -sI https://headstart.io | grep -i strict
4
Submit to hstspreload.org after confirming the header is correct
3
Add missing security headers (CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy)
5 of 5 recommended security headers are missing on headstart.io: CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy. These headers protect against clickjacking, MIME-sniffing, and unauthorized browser feature access. Adding them is a server configuration change with no application code changes required.
Compliance impact
PCI-DSS 4.0Req 6.4.1
Security headers are required application controls
OWASPSecure Headers
Recommended baseline for web applications
How to fix this
1
Add Content-Security-Policy header (start with report-only to avoid breakage)
2
Add: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
3
Add: X-Frame-Options: DENY (or SAMEORIGIN if you use iframes)
4
Add: Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin
5
Add: Permissions-Policy: camera=(), microphone=(), geolocation=()
6
Verify with: curl -sI https://headstart.io | grep -iE 'content-security|x-frame|x-content|referrer|permissions'
4
Enable DNSSEC on your domain
Without DNSSEC, DNS responses for headstart.io can be spoofed, potentially redirecting users to malicious sites. This requires coordination with your domain registrar to publish DS records.
Compliance impact
NIST 800-53SC-20
Secure name/address resolution service
How to fix this
1
Check if your DNS provider supports DNSSEC (Cloudflare, Route53, etc.)
2
Enable DNSSEC signing in your DNS provider dashboard
3
Add the DS record to your registrar for .io TLD
4
Verify: dig +dnssec headstart.io
5
Review certificate configuration
Certificate issues found for headstart.io: wildcard certificate in use. Wildcard certificates have a broader blast radius if compromised. Ensure auto-renewal is configured to prevent expiry. These are operational hygiene items, not immediate security risks.
How to fix this
1
Verify auto-renewal is configured (Let's Encrypt: certbot renew --dry-run)
2
Consider replacing wildcard cert with individual certs for critical subdomains
3
Consolidate certificate issuance to 1–2 trusted CAs
At a glance
Key data points from the scan.
TLS Version
TLSv1.3
TLSv1.3 negotiated with TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256-bit). Strong configuration with no deprecated protocols or weak ciphers detected.
DMARC Policy
Not configured
Issues: No DMARC record found — email spoofing is not prevented; No SPF record found; No DKIM records found for common selectors (domain may use custom selectors — this is not a confirmed gap).
SPF Record
Missing
No SPF record found.
Security Headers
0/5 present
Missing: CSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy
HSTS
Not enabled
Strict-Transport-Security header is missing. Connections can be downgraded to HTTP via man-in-the-middle attacks.
SSL Certificate
Issues
Strengths: Certificate valid, 34 days remaining; Issued by Google Trust Services. Issues: Wildcard certificate in use — broader attack surface if compromised.
DNSSEC
Not enabled
Strengths: 2 nameservers configured (bruce.ns.cloudflare.com., ximena.ns.cloudflare.com.); 3 MX records present; Zone transfers properly restricted. Issues: DNSSEC not configured — DNS responses can be spoofed.