Data Ethics

5 automated security scanners

Special Category Data Misuse

Purpose: The Special Category Data Misuse Scanner is designed to detect unauthorized access and improper handling of health/biometric data, as well as the collection of sensitive information through direct infrastructure probing. This tool ensures compliance with data ethics standards by identifying potential misuse or improper handling of sensitive data within digital infrastructures.

What It Detects:

Security Headers Analysis: Checks for missing or weak security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
TLS/SSL Vulnerabilities: Identifies outdated TLS versions (e.g., TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1) and weak cipher suites (e.g., RC4, DES, MD5).
DNS Record Analysis: Examines TXT, MX, NS, CAA, and DMARC records for potential misconfigurations or security weaknesses.
HTTP Content Inspection: Scans HTTP responses for patterns indicative of sensitive data exposure or improper handling (e.g., health/biometric data in plain text).
Port and Service Fingerprinting: Conducts port scanning to identify open ports and performs service fingerprinting to detect unauthorized services running on the target domain.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): The primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com).
url (string): The specific URL to scan within the domain (e.g., https://acme.com/health-data).

Business Impact: Compliance with data ethics standards is crucial for maintaining trust and legal compliance in healthcare and biometric data handling. This scanner helps organizations identify potential risks associated with unauthorized access and improper handling of sensitive information, which can lead to significant regulatory fines, loss of consumer trust, and damage to organizational reputation.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Conditions that directly lead to the exposure or misuse of health/biometric data without proper authorization are considered critical. This includes scenarios where security headers are missing or weak, TLS versions are outdated, or DNS records contain significant misconfigurations.
High: Conditions that pose a high risk of unauthorized access or sensitive information exposure include HTTP content containing patterns indicative of health/biometric data and open ports potentially exposing services running on the target domain.
Medium: Informational findings may include weak cipher suites in TLS configurations, which while not critical, still represent potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
Low: Lower risk levels might involve outdated but secure versions of TLS or minor misconfigurations in DNS records that do not significantly impact security posture.
Info: These are generally informational findings and include the detection of common ports open on the target domain, which while not necessarily a critical issue, could be indicative of less secure configurations.

Example Findings:

A website is found to have missing or weak X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options headers, indicating potential exposure to clickjacking and content type sniffing attacks.
TLS configuration on the server uses outdated versions of SSL/TLS (e.g., SSLv3) which is highly vulnerable and should be upgraded immediately for security reasons.

Children’s Data Exploitation

Purpose: The Children’s Data Exploitation Scanner is designed to detect age verification bypass and parental consent circumvention by analyzing DNS records, HTTP security headers, TLS/SSL configurations, and port/service availability. This tool aims to ensure compliance with data protection regulations for children, safeguarding their personal information from unauthorized access and potential exploitation.

What It Detects:

Age Verification Bypass Detection: The scanner identifies missing or weak age verification mechanisms in the system’s responses, ensuring that appropriate barriers are in place to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing content intended for minors.
Parental Consent Circumvention Detection: This feature verifies the presence and strength of parental consent processes by analyzing DNS records for relevant policies indicating compliance with data protection laws.
Security Headers Analysis: The scanner checks for proper implementation of essential security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate various types of attacks and protect the integrity of data transmitted through the network.
TLS/SSL Configuration Evaluation: The tool evaluates outdated or insecure TLS versions (e.g., TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1) and identifies weak cipher suites and protocol vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information.
DNS Record Compliance Check: This involves validating the presence of necessary DNS records such as SPF, DMARC, DKIM to ensure proper email security and compliance with data protection standards, thereby enhancing overall network resilience against phishing attacks and other forms of cyber threats.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): The domain name of the website being analyzed, e.g., example.com. This input is crucial for DNS record analysis, HTTP header checks, and TLS configuration evaluation to ensure comprehensive coverage across all aspects of the digital environment.
url (string): A specific URL within the target domain that needs to be scanned for age verification bypass or parental consent circumvention issues. The inclusion of this parameter allows targeted assessment of particular web pages or services potentially vulnerable to these types of attacks.

Business Impact: Ensuring compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and COPPA is paramount for maintaining the trust and confidence of users in digital platforms that handle sensitive information pertaining to children. Failure to adhere to these standards can lead to severe legal consequences, financial penalties, loss of user trust, and damage to brand reputation.

Risk Levels:

Critical: The scanner identifies missing or weak age verification mechanisms in HTTP responses, indicating a significant risk for unauthorized access to sensitive information by minors.
High: Inadequate implementation of security headers such as Strict-Transport-Security can lead to the exposure of data transmitted over unsecured connections, posing a high risk of data theft and manipulation.
Medium: Outdated TLS versions or weak cipher suites may not provide adequate protection against modern cryptographic attacks, creating a medium risk for potential security breaches.
Low: While less severe than critical or high risks, DNS record compliance issues can still pose a minor risk if they do not directly affect the primary functions of data verification and parental consent processes.
Info: Informational findings such as correctly implemented TLS configurations are considered low-risk but provide valuable insights into overall network security posture.

If specific risk levels are not detailed in the README, these inferences are based on the purpose and impact of the scanner’s functionalities.

Example Findings:

A website fails to implement Strict-Transport-Security headers, exposing it to a high risk of data interception during transmission over HTTP.
An application incorrectly configures TLS to use outdated versions (TLSv1.0), making it vulnerable to known cryptographic vulnerabilities and potential exploitation by attackers.

Purpose Limitation Violations

Purpose: The Purpose Limitation Violations Scanner is designed to detect data use beyond its stated purpose by analyzing various aspects such as DNS records, HTTP security headers, TLS/SSL configurations, and network services. This tool ensures compliance with intended data usage policies by identifying potential limitations violations and unauthorized data exposure.

What It Detects:

Security Headers Analysis: Checks for the presence of critical security headers to ensure enhanced web application security.
TLS/SSL Configuration Issues: Identifies outdated or insecure TLS versions and weak cipher suites that may compromise data encryption and integrity.
DNS Record Validation: Verifies DNS records like TXT, MX, NS, CAA, and DMARC for best practices in SPF configurations and proper DMARC policies.
HTTP Redirects and Content Analysis: Analyzes HTTP redirects to prevent unauthorized domain access and inspects content for indications of data misuse.
Port Scanning and Service Fingerprinting: Conducts port scanning to identify open services and service fingerprinting to detect any unauthorized or unexpected services running on the domain.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)
url (string): Specific URL for detailed analysis (e.g., https://acme.com/security)

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of data handling processes, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and preventing potential data breaches or misuse that could lead to significant financial and reputational damage.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Findings indicating a direct threat to critical systems or unauthorized access to sensitive information.
High: Significant risks associated with substantial exposure of personal or confidential data without adequate protection.
Medium: Vulnerabilities that could lead to moderate impacts, such as increased risk of phishing attacks or limited data exposure.
Low: Minor issues that may impact operational efficiency but do not pose significant security risks.
Info: Informative findings that provide baseline information about the system’s configuration and compliance status without immediate threat.

If specific risk levels are not detailed in the README, they have been inferred based on the purpose of the scanner and its potential impacts.

Example Findings:

A domain has an outdated TLS version (TLSv1.0) that is susceptible to known vulnerabilities.
An application uses weak cipher suites like RC4, which are considered insecure for data encryption.

Transparency Deficiencies

Purpose: The Transparency Deficiencies Scanner is designed to identify hidden data practices, obscured processing, and vague policies by analyzing DNS records, HTTP security headers, TLS/SSL configurations, and network ports. Its purpose is to ensure transparency in organizational data handling.

What It Detects:

Missing or Inadequate Security Headers: The scanner detects the absence of critical security headers such as strict-transport-security, content-security-policy, x-frame-options, and x-content-type-options.
Outdated TLS/SSL Configurations: It identifies the presence of outdated cipher suites (like TLSv1.0, TLSv1.1, RC4, DES, MD5) and protocol versions that are insecure or deprecated.
Misconfigured DNS Records: The scanner checks for misaligned SPF, DMARC, and DKIM records which can lead to security vulnerabilities in data handling practices.
Unsecured or Misconfigured Ports: It flags open ports (like Telnet and FTP) that should be closed and services running on unexpected ports, potentially exposing sensitive information.
Obscured Content and Redirects: The scanner identifies HTTP redirects to unknown or suspicious URLs and vague or non-descriptive content in HTTP responses which could indicate hidden practices.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)
url (string): Specific URL for detailed analysis (e.g., https://acme.com/security)

Business Impact: Ensuring transparency in data handling practices is crucial for maintaining trust and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and others. Poor security configurations can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and legal penalties.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Conditions that directly lead to severe vulnerabilities or immediate exposure of sensitive information.
High: Conditions that significantly increase the risk of data leakage or system compromise without adequate mitigation measures.
Medium: Conditions that pose a moderate risk but require attention and potential remediation for optimal security posture.
Low: Informative findings that do not directly impact security but may indicate areas for improvement in policy enforcement and compliance.

If specific risk levels are not defined, it can be inferred that critical risks are those with immediate negative impacts on data security, high risks involve significant vulnerabilities, medium risks suggest potential issues requiring attention, and low risks indicate minor non-critical findings.

Example Findings:

A misconfigured SPF record allowing all authentication methods could lead to unauthorized access.
An outdated TLS version (TLSv1) that is susceptible to attacks can compromise data integrity and confidentiality.

Legitimate Interest Abuse

Purpose: The Legitimate Interest Abuse Scanner is designed to detect overreliance on legitimate interest in data processing activities by analyzing various aspects such as security headers, TLS configurations, and DNS records. This tool helps ensure compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR by identifying potential misuse of legitimate interest claims through detailed analysis and balancing test failures.

What It Detects:

Security Headers Analysis: Checks for the presence of essential security headers including Strict-Transport-Security, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
TLS/SSL Configuration Issues: Identifies outdated or insecure TLS versions such as TLSv1.0 and TLSv1.1, weak cipher suites including RC4 and DES, and the use of deprecated hash functions like MD5.
DNS Record Compliance: Validates SPF records for proper configuration, ensuring they do not end with [+~-]?all which can be overly permissive. Examines DMARC policies to confirm they are set to none, quarantine, or reject. Checks for the presence of DKIM records indicating domain key signing.
HTTP Redirects and Content Analysis: Analyzes HTTP redirects to ensure they do not expose sensitive information, and inspects content for potential data leakage or misuse indicators.
Port Scanning and Service Fingerprinting: Conducts port scanning to identify open ports that may pose security risks, and performs service fingerprinting to determine the services running on identified ports, ensuring they are configured securely.

Inputs Required:

domain (string): Primary domain to analyze (e.g., acme.com)
url (string): Specific URL for detailed analysis (e.g., https://acme.com/security)

Business Impact: This scanner is crucial as it helps organizations maintain compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR, preventing potential legal issues and safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access or misuse. Detecting overreliance on legitimate interest can lead to better-protected data processing activities, reducing the risk of data breaches and ensuring user trust in the organization’s handling of personal data.

Risk Levels:

Critical: Issues that directly compromise security, such as using outdated TLS versions or weak cipher suites, are considered critical.
High: Misconfigurations in DNS records or missing essential security headers can be highly impactful and risky if left unaddressed.
Medium: Somewhat significant but not immediately critical issues, which still require attention for overall security enhancement.
Low: Informative findings that might indicate minor issues or areas needing improvement but do not pose immediate risks.
Info: General information about the system’s configuration, useful for understanding and maintaining its state.

Example Findings:

A website is detected to be using TLSv1.0 with weak cipher suites including RC4. This poses a critical risk as it significantly compromises data security.
An SPF record configured to allow all traffic, ending with [+~-]?all, indicates a high risk of overpermissive settings that can lead to unauthorized access and potential data breaches.