Skip to main content

Security report for adcell.com

Firstlead GmbH · Technology · Germany

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and Security headers.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

ADCELL, operated by Firstlead GmbH since 2003, is a well-established affiliate marketing network targeting the German-speaking markets. It offers a comprehensive platform for publishers, advertisers, and agencies with over 2400 partner programs and a large active publisher base. The website demonstrates a professional and modern technical infrastructure, leveraging popular JavaScript libraries and frameworks, and is hosted behind Cloudflare DNS with HTTPS enforced. Security posture is strong with consent management implemented, though explicit privacy and terms of service policies are not clearly linked. The site is mobile-optimized and provides a good user experience with clear navigation and rich content. Multiple industry awards and certifications enhance trust and credibility.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
40/ 100 · High
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

5 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.

    • Critical

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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. 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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';…

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

Keep watching adcell.com

This scan found 21 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
95
Security headers
30
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
40
Average
70

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

ADCELL holds a strong market position in the affiliate marketing sector within Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Its business model is performance-based affiliate marketing, connecting advertisers with publishers and agencies. The company benefits from a broad partner ecosystem and offers various marketing tools and tracking solutions. The presence of multiple awards and testimonials indicates a reputable and trusted network. The target audience includes digital marketers, online retailers, and agencies seeking affiliate partnerships. Growth indicators include a large number of active publishers and partner programs. Strategic partnerships with platforms like OMR and app stores further strengthen its market presence.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS and uses Cloudflare DNS, indicating a secure hosting environment. Consent management scripts are in place to comply with GDPR cookie requirements. The login form uses HTTPS, and no sensitive data is exposed in the HTML. However, explicit security headers like X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options are not clearly detected and could be improved. There is no visible security policy or incident response contact information, and no vulnerability disclosure mechanism is found. Overall, the security maturity is good but could benefit from formalized policies and enhanced header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a clear and comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service accessible from the homepage.
  2. Implement and document security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection.
  3. Provide explicit contact information for security incidents, including a security@ or abuse@ email address.
  4. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Continue enhancing accessibility features and monitor third-party scripts for security and privacy compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Firstlead GmbH
Description
ADCELL is an affiliate marketing network founded in 2003 by Firstlead GmbH, focusing on the German-speaking markets (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). It offers publishers, advertisers, and agencies a platform for performance-based affiliate marketing with over 2400 partner programs and a large active publisher base.
Key services
Affiliate marketing network services, Partner program management, Tracking and reporting, Affiliate tools including mobile app, third-party tracking, CSV mapper
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, jQuery UI, Bootstrap, Slick Slider, Consent Manager (Consentmanager.net), Google Site Verification
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management for cookies
  • Secure login form with HTTPS
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Consentmanager.net
Marketing tools
Affiliate Dashboard, CSV Mapper, Mobile App
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 challenges.
  2. Strong focus on affiliate marketing network services in German-speaking markets.
  3. Multiple industry awards and certifications displayed prominently.
  4. Comprehensive navigation and user interface with mobile optimization.
  5. Consent management implemented for GDPR compliance.
  6. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service links found in provided content.
  7. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found in the HTML content.
  8. Social media presence on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (X).
  9. Use of modern JavaScript libraries and frameworks.
  10. Secure HTTPS connection with Cloudflare DNS.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern tech stack including jQuery, jQuery UI, Bootstrap, and Slick Slider for UI components and interactivity. Consent management is handled by Consentmanager.net scripts. Hosting is via Cloudflare DNS, providing performance and security benefits. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and fast loading times. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph images. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. The technical implementation is robust with minor opportunities for improvement in security headers and formal documentation.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with adcell.com. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review adcell.com.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.