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Security report for ardaudiothek.de

ARD Audiothek · Media · Germany

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

56/100

Risk levelMedium

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

ARD Audiothek is a leading German public broadcaster podcast platform offering a wide range of audio content including podcasts, radio shows, documentaries, and comedy from ARD and Deutschlandradio. The platform targets a broad German-speaking audience interested in high-quality, free audio content. It operates under the umbrella of ARD, a major public broadcasting consortium in Germany, ensuring strong market presence and trust. The website is professionally designed with excellent content quality and consistent branding, providing a seamless user experience across devices. Technically, the site leverages modern web technologies such as Next.js and integrates analytics tools like Piano Analytics and Google Tag Manager for performance and user insights. Security posture is strong with HTTPS, security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities, although a dedicated security policy and incident response contacts are not explicitly published. Privacy compliance is well addressed with comprehensive privacy and cookie policies aligned with GDPR requirements. Overall, ARD Audiothek presents a trustworthy, professional, and user-friendly platform with a solid technical foundation and good security hygiene.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of ardaudiothek.de. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
28/ 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

8 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

  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 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 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';…

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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
85
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
35
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
28
Average
56

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention ardaudiothek.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
2
Employees
0
Customers
2
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
100%

1 subdomain affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for ardaudiothek.de.

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Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

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Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

ARD Audiothek holds a strong position in the German media market as the official podcast platform for ARD and Deutschlandradio. Its business model focuses on free content distribution funded by public broadcasting budgets, targeting general audiences interested in diverse audio content. The platform benefits from ARD's extensive content production and distribution network, enhancing its competitive advantage. Partnerships with other ARD services like Mediathek, Tagesschau, and Sportschau create a comprehensive media ecosystem. The platform's growth is supported by mobile apps and integration with smart devices, expanding reach and engagement. Strategic observations include the importance of maintaining high content quality, expanding personalized recommendations, and enhancing user engagement through social media and newsletters.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, robust security headers, and no exposed sensitive information. The use of secure login via ARD accounts adds to user data protection. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy and incident response contact points limits transparency in security governance. No vulnerabilities or outdated libraries were detected in the provided content. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are in place, supporting GDPR compliance. Recommendations include publishing a dedicated security policy, incident response contacts, and a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting and enhance trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information, including abuse and security email addresses.
  3. Implement and publish a security.txt file to formalize vulnerability disclosure processes.
  4. Enhance transparency around data retention policies and user data handling.
  5. Continue monitoring and updating third-party libraries and analytics tools to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ARD Audiothek
Description
Die besten Podcasts der ARD und des Deutschlandradios. Einfach kostenlos abonnieren, hören, herunterladen.
Key services
Podcast streaming, Podcast downloading, Radio streaming, Personalized podcast recommendations
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (Next.js), JavaScript, CSS, Google Tag Manager, Piano Analytics
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web, Mobile apps (iOS, Android)
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure login via ARD accounts
  • Preconnect and DNS-prefetch for performance and security

Analytics and tracking

Services
Piano Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Piano Analytics
Marketing tools
Piano Analytics
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally maintained public broadcaster podcast platform.
  2. Content is in German and targets German-speaking audiences.
  3. Strong branding and consistent user experience.
  4. Good use of modern web technologies and analytics.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  6. Privacy and cookie policies are present and GDPR compliant.
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response contact found.
  8. No direct contact emails or phone numbers visible on main site; support is via help portal.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern web technologies, primarily React with Next.js framework, ensuring server-side rendering and good performance. It uses CSS for styling and integrates analytics via Piano Analytics and Google Tag Manager. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Hosting details are not explicitly stated but DNS uses brandshelter nameservers indicating professional domain management. Performance is fast with preconnect and dns-prefetch optimizations. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary content management solution. Technical risks are minimal, but continuous monitoring of third-party scripts and dependencies is advised to maintain security and performance.
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. 56/100Medium36 findingsView report
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