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Security report for ably.com

Ably · Technology · N/a

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

77/100

Risk levelLow

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

Ably is a mature and well-established realtime platform founded in 2002, specializing in streaming data instantly between services and end-user devices. It offers a suite of developer-focused products such as Ably Pub/Sub, Chat, LiveObjects, and LiveSync, targeting businesses that require scalable, reliable, and low-latency realtime messaging infrastructure. The company positions itself as a leader in the realtime messaging market, supporting over 2 billion connected devices monthly with a strong uptime record. Technically, the website is built on modern frameworks like Gatsby and React, hosted with Cloudflare DNS and Amazon Registrar, and integrates various marketing and analytics tools including Google Tag Manager, Intercom, and HubSpot. The site is fast, mobile-optimized, and accessible with a professional design and clear navigation. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS, implements security headers, and uses domain status locks to prevent unauthorized changes. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and no explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages were found, which are areas for improvement. Contact information is limited to a contact form without direct emails or phone numbers. Overall, Ably demonstrates a strong security posture and business credibility, but could enhance privacy compliance and transparency to further build trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 100 · Low
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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  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 Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-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

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

Keep watching ably.com

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.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

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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
57
Security headers
60
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
77

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

Ably operates in the technology sector providing realtime data streaming and messaging services primarily to developers and enterprises. Its business model is SaaS with usage-based pricing options, including free, standard, pro, and enterprise tiers. The company emphasizes scalability, reliability, and low latency as competitive advantages. Its market presence is significant, with a large user base and enterprise-grade SLAs. The platform supports various use cases such as chat, dashboards, notifications, and asset tracking. Partnerships and integrations with Kafka, Pulsar, and Kinesis indicate a strong ecosystem. The company maintains a consistent brand and professional online presence, signaling maturity and trustworthiness in the realtime messaging market.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced, multiple security headers present, and domain registration protections enabled. The use of Cloudflare DNS adds an additional layer of security and performance. Cookie consent is managed via OneTrust, indicating attention to privacy compliance. However, the absence of DNSSEC and lack of published security policies or incident response contacts represent gaps. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. The site does not publicly disclose a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file, which could improve transparency and incident handling readiness. Overall, the security posture is strong but could be enhanced with additional policy disclosures and DNS security improvements.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service pages linked prominently on the website.
  3. Provide direct contact information including support and security incident emails to improve transparency and trust.
  4. Implement and publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly review and update cookie consent and data retention policies to maintain GDPR and privacy compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Ably
Description
Ably is a realtime platform that streams data instantly between services and end-user devices. It is built for scale, engineered for reliability and low latency, powering live messaging, chat, dashboards, notifications, and collaborative apps.
Key services
Ably Pub/Sub, Ably Chat, Ably LiveObjects, Ably LiveSync, Ably Spaces, Ably Asset Tracking
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Gatsby, Cloudflare DNS, OneTrust (cookie consent), Google Tag Manager, Intercom, HubSpot, Reddit Pixel
Frameworks
Gatsby
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited
  • No DNSSEC enabled (recommend enabling)
  • Use of Cloudflare DNS for protection and performance
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager), HubSpot
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Reddit Pixel, Intercom
Marketing tools
HubSpot, Intercom
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenge.
  2. Content is rich, professional, and technology-focused.
  3. Strong usage of modern web technologies and frameworks.
  4. Good security posture with HTTPS and security headers.
  5. Cookie consent mechanism implemented via OneTrust.
  6. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service found on homepage.
  7. Contact information is via contact form only; no direct emails or phone numbers found.
  8. Business is positioned as a leading realtime platform with enterprise features.
  9. WHOIS data shows domain age consistent with business claims.
  10. No suspicious or malicious indicators detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern web technologies including React and Gatsby, ensuring fast performance and good SEO. Hosting and DNS are managed via reputable providers Amazon Registrar and Cloudflare, contributing to reliability and security. The site integrates multiple third-party marketing and analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager, Intercom, and HubSpot, which are standard for SaaS platforms. Mobile optimization and accessibility are well implemented, providing a good user experience across devices. The absence of DNSSEC is a minor technical gap. Overall, the technical infrastructure is robust, scalable, and aligned with industry best practices for a technology SaaS provider.
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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