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Security report for aol.com

AOL · Media · N/a

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

This website is a consent collection page for AOL, which operates as part of the Yahoo family of brands. AOL is a large media and technology company providing various online services and content platforms. The page is designed to comply with GDPR regulations by informing users about cookie usage and data processing, offering options to accept, reject, or manage privacy settings. The site is professionally branded and integrates with Yahoo's privacy and cookie policies, reflecting a mature compliance posture. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies including JavaScript and CSS, with analytics powered by Yahoo's Rapid framework. The page is mobile optimized and accessible, though accessibility features could be enhanced. Security best practices such as CSRF tokens are implemented, but explicit security headers are not visible in the provided data. The site uses HTTPS and standard consent mechanisms, indicating a good security baseline. From a security perspective, no vulnerabilities or blocking mechanisms were detected. The lack of WHOIS data for the subdomain is typical and not suspicious. Privacy compliance is strong with clear policies and consent options. However, no direct contact or incident response information is provided on this page, which could be improved for transparency. Overall, the website demonstrates a solid business and technical foundation with good privacy compliance and security posture. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, improving accessibility, and providing clearer contact and incident response information to strengthen trust and compliance further.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

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. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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 aol.com

This scan found 14 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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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
72
Security headers
75
Email security
83
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
81

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

AOL operates as a subsidiary under Yahoo, focusing on media content delivery and advertising services. The business model relies heavily on advertising revenue driven by user data and analytics. The target audience includes general internet users seeking news and media content. AOL benefits from the brand recognition and infrastructure of Yahoo, positioning it strongly in the media sector. The company leverages partnerships compliant with the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework to manage advertising and data privacy. Growth indicators include integration with Yahoo's ecosystem and adherence to evolving privacy regulations. The partnership ecosystem is robust, involving numerous advertising and analytics partners. Strategic observations suggest AOL maintains a competitive edge through brand synergy and compliance but should continue to innovate in privacy and security to maintain market trust.

Security posture

The security maturity level of the website is moderate to good. The site uses HTTPS and includes CSRF protection in forms, indicating attention to secure data handling. However, explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, or X-Frame-Options were not detected in the provided data, representing an area for improvement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were identified. The site employs extensive user tracking consistent with advertising and analytics needs, balanced by GDPR-compliant consent mechanisms. Incident response and security policy information are not present on this page, which limits transparency. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a media company but could be enhanced by adopting additional security headers and publishing clear security policies and incident response contacts.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers such as CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to strengthen browser security.
  2. Publish clear security policies and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  3. Enhance accessibility features to meet higher compliance standards and improve user experience for all users.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and partners for vulnerabilities and compliance with privacy regulations.
  5. Provide more direct contact options for privacy and security inquiries to support user trust and regulatory compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
AOL
Description
AOL is a media and technology company that operates as part of the Yahoo family of brands, providing websites and apps including AOL, Yahoo, Engadget, Rivals, In The Know, and Makers.
Key services
Media content delivery, Advertising, User authentication, Analytics
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, YAHOO.i13n.Rapid analytics
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of CSRF token in form
  • HTTPS usage implied by URL scheme

Analytics and tracking

Services
YAHOO.i13n.Rapid
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
IAB Transparency & Consent Framework partners
Tracking pixels
YAHOO.i13n.Rapid
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. The page is a consent collection page for GDPR compliance.
  2. Content is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  3. The site uses standard cookie consent mechanisms and links to comprehensive privacy and cookie policies.
  4. No direct contact information or security policies are provided on this page.
  5. WHOIS data for the subdomain is not available, which is common for subdomains.
  6. The site uses JavaScript analytics and tracking consistent with large media companies.
  7. The branding is consistent with AOL and Yahoo family of brands.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using standard web technologies including HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, with analytics powered by Yahoo's Rapid framework. The site is hosted on Yahoo/AOL infrastructure, ensuring enterprise-grade hosting and performance. The page is mobile optimized and designed with responsive layouts. While the technical implementation is solid, there is room for improvement in accessibility and security header implementation. The site uses modern consent frameworks aligned with GDPR requirements. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by the inclusion of multiple scripts and tracking mechanisms. Technical risks include potential dependency on third-party partners for advertising and analytics, which require ongoing monitoring to mitigate vulnerabilities.
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. 82/100Low21 findingsView report
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