CyberBadger Labs · Research

London, Ontario Website Review

371 sites scanned · London · August 2026 · passive, public data only · 2 scans tracked

We ran a passive, read-only security scan of 371 London business websites, using only what any browser or mail server can already see. Most can be impersonated in email, and the typical independent business site scores a D. Here is what the outside of London's small-business web looks like, and how to close the most common gaps.

85.3%
of independent London businesses can be impersonated in email.

How London grades out

Every site gets one A to F grade. The typical independent London business scores a D.

B
C
D+
D
A 5%B 8.5%C 20.4%D+ 25.9%D 35.8%D- 2%F 2%
Typical grade by category
Email
F
Headers
C+
TLS
A+
DNS
A+
Cookies
A+
Software
A+

The overall grade is held down by its weakest category. The rest of the region’s web is often in far better shape.

What we found, and how to fix it

Share of independent businesses with each gap, next to London's 78 chains and franchises for comparison. Every one is fixable.

85.3%
Local
59%
Chains
Can be impersonated in email (no DMARC enforcement)
250 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
1%
Local
0%
Chains
Running software with a known CVE
3 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
82.3%
Local
100%
Chains
WordPress sites exposing their admin usernames
65 of 79 WordPress sites
How to fix this →
72.4%
Local
53.8%
Chains
No Content-Security-Policy header
212 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
53.6%
Local
38.5%
Chains
Missing core security headers
157 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
62.5%
Local
39.7%
Chains
No HSTS (browsers can be downgraded to HTTP)
183 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
32.1%
Local
24.4%
Chains
No SPF record
94 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
21.2%
Local
17.9%
Chains
Not enforcing HTTPS
62 of 293 sites
How to fix this →
3.4%
Local
3.8%
Chains
Expired or untrusted TLS certificate
10 of 293 sites
How to fix this →

Context: 27% of these sites run WordPress (79 of 293). Running WordPress is not a problem in itself; it just means the WordPress-specific gaps above apply.

What London gets right

Security basics a good share of these businesses already have in place.

75.4%enforce HTTPS
93.2%have a valid, trusted certificate
14.7%enforce DMARC (quarantine or reject)
29.7%send a strong HSTS header
25.6%have a strict SPF record (-all)

How London has changed

2 scans since July 2026. Lower is better on every line.

Spoofable email
85.3%no change
was 85.3%
No HTTPS
21.2%▼ 0.5 pts
was 21.7%
No HSTS
62.5%▼ 1.8 pts
was 64.3%
0%25%50%75%100%July 2026August 2026Spoofable emailNo HTTPSNo HSTS

Grade mix over time

D
C
July 2026
typ. D
D
C
August 2026
typ. D

Where does your site land?

Run the same free scan on your own website and get your grade, plus the exact fixes, in under a minute. No login.

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Method & sources

  • Passive and read-only: public DNS records plus a single homepage request per site. No logins, no test emails, no active or intrusive testing.
  • Sites were drawn from OpenStreetMap within London's administrative boundary, deduplicated by domain. 371 of 403 sites had a reachable website and were scored; the rest had no reachable website.
  • Of those, the headline figures cover the 293 independent businesses; the 78 chains and franchises (a domain at many locations, or carrying a brand tag) were set aside so the numbers reflect locally-owned businesses.
  • Figures are aggregate and anonymized: no individual business is named.

Data sources: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Cite this report

CyberBadger Labs, "London, Ontario Website Review" (2026). n=371 london business websites. Data: © OpenStreetMap contributors.