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Security report for andrewsmcmeel.com

Andrews McMeel Universal · Media · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Andrews McMeel Universal is a large, established global media company specializing in publishing, syndication, entertainment, and licensing of comics, illustrated humor, and inspirational content. The company targets a broad general audience and operates multiple divisions and affiliate sites. The website is professionally designed, well-branded, and optimized for SEO and mobile devices, reflecting a mature digital presence. Technically, the site uses WordPress CMS with modern JavaScript libraries and SEO plugins, supported by Google Analytics for user insights. Security posture is good with HTTPS enforced and firewall plugins active, though explicit security headers and incident response policies are not publicly documented. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. However, the absence of WHOIS data for the domain raises questions about domain registration transparency, warranting further verification. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professional, and safe for general audiences.

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

6 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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. 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

  3. 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

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

Keep watching andrewsmcmeel.com

This scan found 23 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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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
42
Security headers
50
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
66

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 company holds a strong market position in the media sector, leveraging a diversified business model that includes publishing, syndication, entertainment, and licensing. Its partnerships with affiliate sites and subdomains for specialized divisions indicate a well-structured ecosystem. The business model focuses on content creation and distribution, targeting consumers of comics and illustrated media globally. The presence of social media channels and marketing tools suggests active audience engagement and brand promotion. The company appears to have stable growth indicators and a reputable brand identity in its industry.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and use of security plugins like WP Simple Firewall. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options is a gap. There is no publicly available security policy or incident response contact information, which could hinder rapid response to security incidents. GDPR compliance is indicated by privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. Overall, the security posture is solid but could be improved with additional headers and transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish explicit security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a formal security policy and provide incident response contact channels such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  3. Consider implementing a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and plugins for vulnerabilities and update them promptly.
  5. Enhance transparency around domain registration and WHOIS data to improve trustworthiness.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Andrews McMeel Universal
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Andrews McMeel Universal
Description
Andrews McMeel Universal is a global, independent, integrated media partner known for its ability to discover and nurture world-class creators, artists and brands, specializing in comics, illustrated humor and inspirational content
Key services
publishing, syndication, entertainment, licensing, digital media
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Owl Carousel, Google Analytics, Yoast SEO, MonsterInsights, Sassy Social Share, WP Simple Firewall
Frameworks
Yoast SEO
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner
  • Use of WP Simple Firewall plugin
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
MonsterInsights
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and interactive features
  2. Uses modern web technologies and WordPress CMS
  3. Includes privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanism
  4. No visible security policy or incident response contacts
  5. WHOIS data is missing or domain not found in WHOIS database
  6. Strong branding and consistent corporate identity
  7. Multiple social media channels linked
  8. No adult or questionable content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS, utilizing modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and Owl Carousel for interactive content. SEO is managed via Yoast SEO plugin, and user analytics are collected through Google Analytics integrated via MonsterInsights. The site is mobile responsive with good accessibility features and clear navigation. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization in loading speed. The use of security plugins indicates attention to security, though additional measures could be adopted. The technical infrastructure supports a professional media company with a focus on content delivery and user engagement.
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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