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Security report for apnews.com

AP News · Media · United States

Low risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

AP News is a globally recognized independent news agency providing breaking news, headlines, and multimedia content. The website serves a broad general audience with comprehensive news coverage across multiple sectors and regions. It operates under the parent company The Associated Press, with a long-established domain dating back to 1991, reflecting its authoritative market position. The site offers newsletters, quizzes, and topical hubs, supporting a diverse content strategy.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
70/ 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

4 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

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

  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 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

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Keep watching apnews.com

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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
75
Security headers
45
Email security
85
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
70
Average
78

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

AP News holds a leading position in the media industry as a trusted news source. Its business model centers on news content creation and distribution, monetized through advertising partnerships with major ad networks and marketing platforms. The site targets a global audience interested in timely and reliable news. Its partnership ecosystem includes major advertising and analytics providers, enhancing revenue streams and audience insights. The brand consistency and content quality support strong user trust and engagement.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement, clientTransferProhibited domain status, and use of access control frameworks like Zephr. It integrates reCAPTCHA and employs multiple security and marketing scripts responsibly. However, it lacks explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and DNSSEC, which are areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the security measures are robust but could benefit from enhanced transparency and DNS security.

Recommendations

  1. Publish clear and accessible privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms to improve compliance.
  2. Enable DNSSEC to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  3. Add a publicly accessible security policy and incident response contact information to enhance trust and preparedness.
  4. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking technologies to minimize privacy risks and improve performance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
AP News
Description
Read the latest headlines, breaking news, and videos at APNews.com, the definitive source for independent journalism from every corner of the globe.
Key services
news reporting, video content, newsletters, quizzes
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jwplayer, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Cloudflare DNS, OneSignal, Taboola, Zephr, Freestar, Permutive, Sailthru, Admiral, UsableNet, Optimizely
Frameworks
Zephr (access control), Google Tag Manager
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • clientTransferProhibited domain status
  • no exposed credentials in HTML
  • use of reCAPTCHA
  • access control via Zephr
  • cookie consent scripts present

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Permutive, ScorecardResearch
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Freestar, PubMatic, Taboola, Criteo
Tracking pixels
ScorecardResearch, Permutive, Facebook SDK
Marketing tools
Sailthru, Optimizely, Zephr, Admiral
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a major global news provider with extensive content and multimedia.
  2. Uses multiple third-party advertising and tracking services.
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie policy links found in provided HTML snippet.
  4. Strong branding and consistent design.
  5. No signs of phishing, malware, or suspicious activity.
  6. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and long-term operation.
  7. Good technical implementation with modern scripts and frameworks.
  8. No visible contact emails or phone numbers in provided content.
  9. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  10. No explicit security policy or incident response info found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including JW Player for video, Google Tag Manager for analytics, Zephr for access control, and multiple advertising and marketing platforms. It is hosted with Cloudflare DNS and uses Network Solutions as registrar. The site is mobile optimized with good accessibility and SEO practices. Performance is moderate due to multiple third-party scripts but overall user experience is professional and responsive. The CMS appears to be Brightspot, a known enterprise content platform. Technical risks are low but monitoring third-party dependencies is advised.
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. 77/100 +1Low25 findingsView report
  2. 76/100Low24 findingsView report
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