This week’s barometer: compliance, flaws and speed, sector by sector

This week our panel of 4,719 websites averages 73/100 on compliance, 70 on vulnerability and 66 on speed. Banking and tech lead; the public sector and non-profits trail. Here is what separates the best from the rest, sector by sector and without naming anyone — plus a few quick fixes to climb.

This week (week 42) our panel holds 4,719 websites, measured from the outside like any visitor. The averages: compliance 73/100, vulnerability 69.8, speed 66. A decent baseline, but room everywhere — especially on known flaws and speed.

By sector. Banking and insurance leads (78.5 on both compliance and vulnerability): the most regulated and most targeted sector is also the best kept. Technology follows closely, with the best speed (74.1). At the other end, non-profits and small services trail on all three axes, and public administration posts the lowest speed (57.9) despite being the largest group in the panel. The widest gaps are on vulnerability (nearly 14 points top to bottom) and speed (16 points).

What sets the good ones apart, without naming anyone: HTTPS everywhere and well configured, security headers in place, authenticated email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), software kept up to date. What drags the others down: missing headers, unprotected and therefore spoofable email, old software, sometimes an exposed admin panel, and slow hosting.

How to climb, fast. Most lost points are won back through configuration, not a redesign:

  • Compliance: turn on HTTPS + HSTS, add a few security headers, publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC (a handful of DNS records).
  • Vulnerability: update the CMS and the server, close any exposed admin access.
  • Speed: enable compression and caching, or use a CDN.

A few hours are often enough to gain ten points. To see where you stand: test your site, compare yourself to your sector, and join the panel if you want to appear in it.

Sources

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