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Security report for a11y.info

a11y.info · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

a11y.info operates as a niche Mastodon social networking server dedicated to the accessibility and inclusion community. Founded in 2018 and hosted under a US-based domain, it provides an open platform for users interested in digital accessibility topics. The website serves as a community hub with Mastodon integration, offering trending posts and user engagement features. The platform is small in scale with approximately 20 active users, reflecting a focused and specialized audience. Technically, the site leverages Mastodon version 4.4.1 with modern JavaScript frameworks and is hosted with reputable DNS and registrar services. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and accessibility features, aligning well with its mission. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protections in place, though DNSSEC is not enabled and security headers are absent, indicating room for improvement. Privacy compliance is partial; a privacy policy exists but cookie consent and terms of service are missing. No direct contact information or incident response details are provided, which may limit user trust and compliance readiness. Overall, the site is professionally presented with consistent branding and trustworthy domain registration, but could enhance security and privacy practices to better serve its community and regulatory requirements.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  2. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 384-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

  3. DNS health

    DNS sends visitors and email to the right servers. Misconfigured records can cause outages or let someone redirect your traffic.

    • High

      Domain Expires Soon

      Domain expires in 27 days

      What to do: Renew domain registration before expiration

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching a11y.info

This scan found 19 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
75
Security headers
75
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
73

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The business model centers on providing a community-driven Mastodon server focused on accessibility and inclusion, targeting users interested in digital accessibility. The platform's competitive advantage lies in its niche focus and alignment with the fediverse ethos of decentralized social networking. Revenue streams are not evident, suggesting a non-commercial or community-supported model. The partnership ecosystem includes Mastodon and related open-source technologies, with no commercial partners or subsidiaries identified. Growth indicators are modest, with a small active user base. Strategic observations highlight the importance of enhancing privacy compliance and security policies to build greater trust and potentially expand the user base. The platform's reliance on open-source and community engagement positions it well within the decentralized social media landscape.

Security posture

The security maturity level is moderate, with HTTPS enforced and domain status flags preventing unauthorized domain changes. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents gaps that could expose users to certain risks. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Compliance gaps include missing cookie consent mechanisms and lack of published incident response or security policies. Data protection practices appear minimal, with no explicit data collection or tracking observed. Incident response readiness is unclear due to lack of contact channels for security issues. The security culture is implied to be community-focused but could benefit from formalized policies and transparency to enhance user confidence and regulatory compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement and display a cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and enhance privacy transparency.
  3. Add standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to improve protection against common web attacks.
  4. Publish a security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Consider adding terms of service to clarify user rights and responsibilities, enhancing legal compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
a11y.info
Description
An open community for those interested in sharing and learning more about inclusion and digital accessibility. "a11y" is short for "accessibility." There are 11 letters between the a and the y.
Key services
Mastodon social networking server, Community engagement on accessibility topics
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.4.1, JavaScript ES modules, React, SVG icons, Squarespace Domains registrar, Google Cloud DNS
Frameworks
Mastodon, React
Platforms
Fediverse, Mastodon
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status clientDeleteProhibited and clientTransferProhibited set

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

Design
good
User experience
good
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
good
Trustworthiness
moderate

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon instance focused on accessibility community.
  2. No commercial or e-commerce activities detected.
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly provided.
  4. Privacy policy present but cookie policy and terms of service missing.
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  6. No advertising or tracking detected.
  7. Good mobile and accessibility support.
  8. No WAF or blocking detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Mastodon 4.4.1, utilizing modern JavaScript ES modules and React framework, indicating a contemporary technology stack. Hosting is managed via Squarespace Domains with DNS hosted on Google Cloud DNS, ensuring reliable infrastructure. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features, consistent with the site's focus on inclusion. The site lacks a traditional CMS, relying on Mastodon's platform capabilities. Technical debt appears low, but the absence of DNSSEC and security headers suggests areas for modernization. No analytics or tracking scripts were detected, aligning with privacy-conscious design. Overall, the technical implementation supports the community-driven business model effectively but could be enhanced with additional security and privacy features.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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