Before You Start
- Your organization primary domain name
- Access to the Cyber Defense Agent website at cyberdefenseagent.com
- Authority or permission to assess your organization security posture
Navigate to Cyber Defense Agent and enter your domain
Open your browser and go to cyberdefenseagent.com. On the homepage, you will find the domain scan input field prominently displayed. Enter your primary business domain in the format yourdomain.com without any prefixes like http or www. Use your main business domain, not a subdomain. If your organization uses multiple domains, start with the primary domain that handles your main email and website traffic. Click the scan button to initiate the assessment. The scan is non-intrusive and examines only publicly available information about your domain configuration, so it does not require any credentials or access to your internal systems. The scan typically completes within sixty seconds.
Wait for the scan to complete and review your score
The Cyber Defense Agent scan evaluates multiple dimensions of your domain security configuration. It checks your email authentication records including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. It examines your web server TLS and SSL configuration. It looks at your DNS security settings including DNSSEC. It checks for known vulnerabilities in your web server headers and verifies security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security. Once complete, you receive a Cyber Defense Score that represents your overall security posture on a graded scale. The score provides an at-a-glance view of how well your domain is configured against common attack vectors and how you compare to industry benchmarks.
Review individual category scores
Below your overall Cyber Defense Score, the report breaks down your results into specific categories. Each category shows whether you passed or failed specific checks and provides context about why each check matters. The email security section covers SPF record validity, DKIM configuration, and DMARC policy strength. The web security section covers TLS certificate validity, protocol versions, cipher suite strength, and HTTP security headers. Review each category to understand where your strengths and weaknesses are. Pay particular attention to any critical findings marked with high severity, as these represent the most immediate risks to your organization. The scan results are prioritized to help you focus your remediation efforts on the issues that matter most.
Export or save your scan results
Save your scan results for documentation and tracking purposes. Cyber Defense Agent allows you to bookmark or share your results URL. Take note of your current score as a baseline that you will use to measure improvement over time. If you are working with a managed service provider or internal IT team, share the results link with them so they can see the specific findings and prioritize remediation. If you need to present the results to leadership or a board of directors, the summary score provides an easy-to-understand metric that communicates your security posture without requiring technical expertise. Consider running the scan monthly to track your progress as you implement the recommended improvements.
Prioritize remediation based on scan findings
Use the scan results to create a prioritized remediation plan. Start with critical and high-severity findings, as these typically represent the easiest wins with the biggest security impact. Common high-priority fixes include adding a missing DMARC record, upgrading from TLS 1.0 or 1.1 to TLS 1.2 or higher, and adding security headers to your web server. Medium-priority items might include tightening an existing SPF record from soft fail to hard fail or adding DNSSEC to your domain. Low-priority items are often enhancements to already-functional configurations. Create a timeline for addressing each finding with assigned owners and target completion dates. After completing each fix, re-run the scan to verify the improvement is reflected in your updated score.
Schedule recurring scans to track progress
Security is not a one-time activity. Schedule a recurring scan of your domain at least monthly to catch configuration drift, certificate expirations, or new vulnerabilities that appear. Use Cyber Defense Agent monitoring features to receive alerts when your security posture changes. Track your Cyber Defense Score over time to demonstrate continuous improvement to stakeholders, auditors, and cyber insurance carriers. If your score drops, investigate what changed and remediate promptly. Consider scanning all domains owned by your organization, not just the primary one, as attackers often target secondary or forgotten domains. Make the monthly scan part of your IT operations checklist alongside other recurring tasks like patch management and backup verification.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Scanning a subdomain instead of the primary domain and getting incomplete results
Running the scan once and never following up on the findings or re-scanning after fixes
Ignoring medium and low severity findings that collectively weaken your security posture
Not sharing scan results with the team responsible for implementing fixes
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