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Security report for ahrefs.com

Ahrefs · Technology · Singapore

Medium risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view.

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Ahrefs is a well-established Singapore-based technology company founded in 2010, specializing in providing comprehensive SEO and digital marketing intelligence tools. The company offers a broad suite of services including site exploration, keyword research, rank tracking, brand monitoring, site auditing, web analytics, content exploration, and AI-powered content assistance. Positioned as a leading player in the SEO industry, Ahrefs serves a diverse audience ranging from individual marketers to large enterprises, including 44% of Fortune 500 companies. The website demonstrates excellent content quality, professional design, and clear navigation, supported by a consistent brand image and strong trust indicators such as testimonials and social media presence. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies including React, Cloudflare for hosting and security, and integrates various marketing and analytics tools such as Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Google Tag Manager, and CookieYes for consent management. While the site is mobile-optimized and accessible, performance metrics are not explicitly available. Security headers are properly configured; however, the SSL certificate is invalid or misconfigured, and no modern TLS protocols are enabled, significantly impacting the security posture. From a security perspective, the site employs essential security headers and cookie flags but lacks a valid SSL certificate and modern encryption protocols, which are critical for protecting user data and ensuring secure communications. No explicit security or incident response policies are found, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files are present. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and GDPR-compliant, with active consent mechanisms. Overall, Ahrefs presents a strong business and technical profile with excellent content and user experience but requires immediate attention to its SSL configuration and encryption protocols to enhance security and trust. Strategic improvements in security infrastructure and transparency around incident response would further solidify its market position and compliance posture.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of ahrefs.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
43/ 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

2 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

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

Keep watching ahrefs.com

This scan found 15 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

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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
50
Security headers
85
Email security
80
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
43
Average
75

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

Ahrefs operates as a SaaS provider in the technology sector, focusing on digital marketing and SEO tools. Its business model revolves around subscription-based access to a suite of marketing intelligence products. The company has established a strong market position, trusted by a significant portion of Fortune 500 companies, indicating robust competitive advantages and brand recognition. Key services include competitor website analysis, keyword research, rank tracking, brand visibility monitoring, and AI-enhanced content tools. The company maintains a broad partnership ecosystem with payment processors like Stripe, email services like SendGrid, and customer support platforms like Intercom. Growth indicators include a large user base (over 13,500 users joined in the last 7 days) and extensive educational resources. The company emphasizes independence and a mission to support content creators through innovative search technologies.

Security posture

The current security maturity of Ahrefs' website is moderate but with critical gaps. The presence of security headers such as HSTS, CSP, Referrer-Policy, and X-Frame-Options indicates adherence to best practices in HTTP security. However, the invalid SSL certificate and absence of enabled TLS protocols (TLS 1.2 or 1.3) represent significant vulnerabilities that expose users to potential interception and downgrade attacks. No OCSP stapling or session resumption mechanisms are implemented, reducing the efficiency and security of SSL/TLS sessions. There is no evidence of a published security policy or incident response plan, which could hinder timely handling of security incidents. Privacy policies are comprehensive and GDPR-compliant, reflecting a strong data protection culture. Overall, while some security best practices are observed, the critical SSL/TLS issues must be addressed to improve the security posture and user trust.

Recommendations

  1. Urgently fix the SSL certificate to ensure it is valid, properly issued by a trusted CA, and correctly installed.
  2. Enable and enforce modern TLS protocols (TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3) to secure data in transit.
  3. Implement OCSP stapling and session resumption to improve SSL/TLS performance and security.
  4. Publish a clear security policy and incident response plan accessible to users and stakeholders.
  5. Maintain and enhance privacy compliance efforts, including transparent data retention policies and user consent management.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Ahrefs Pte. Ltd.
Registration number
201227417H
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern web technologies, including React for frontend rendering and Cloudflare for hosting and security services. It integrates multiple third-party services for analytics (Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, LinkedIn Insight), marketing (CookieYes for cookie consent), and customer support (Intercom). The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. However, performance metrics are not available, limiting assessment of load times and resource efficiency. The invalid SSL certificate and lack of TLS support pose technical risks that could impact user trust and search engine rankings. The site uses extensive structured data (JSON-LD) and Open Graph metadata to enhance SEO and social sharing capabilities. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and robust but requires remediation of critical SSL/TLS issues.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 83/100 +2Low23 findingsView report
  2. 81/100 +4Low24 findingsView report
  3. 77/100 +2Low27 findingsView report
  4. 75/100 −1Medium22 findingsView report
  5. 76/100 +3Low26 findingsView report
  6. 73/100Medium23 findingsView report
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