Skip to main content

Security report for ardmediathek.de

ARD · Media · Germany

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

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

ARD Mediathek is the official streaming platform of ARD, Germany's public broadcasting consortium. It offers a comprehensive range of media content including films, series, documentaries, live streams, and news, targeting a broad general audience in Germany. The platform is well-positioned as a leading public media service with strong brand recognition and a large user base. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies such as React and Swiper.js, ensuring a fast, responsive, and accessible user experience across devices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, although explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly disclosed. Privacy compliance is robust with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms in place. Overall, ARD Mediathek demonstrates a mature digital presence with high trustworthiness and professional quality.

Scanned

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

6 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

    • 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

  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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

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

  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 ardmediathek.de

This scan found 24 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
82
Security headers
60
Email security
70
DNS health
55
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
28
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

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 ardmediathek.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
338
Employees
0
Customers
293
Third parties
45
Weak passwords
22%

8 subdomains 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 ardmediathek.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

ARD Mediathek operates within the public media sector in Germany, leveraging the ARD brand to provide free access to a wide variety of audiovisual content. Its business model is based on public funding and broadcasting rights rather than commercial advertising. The platform integrates with other ARD services such as accounts management and related media sites like Tagesschau and Sportschau, creating a cohesive ecosystem. The target audience is broad, encompassing general viewers interested in news, entertainment, and educational content. The platform's partnerships with other ARD entities and use of professional newsletter services indicate a well-established operational infrastructure. Growth is supported by continuous content updates and a strong digital strategy.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security foundation with HTTPS enabled and no exposed sensitive data in the HTML content. Security best practices such as secure login redirects and absence of inline scripts reduce attack surface. However, the lack of publicly available security policies, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. No known vulnerabilities or suspicious patterns were detected. The security score is high but could be enhanced by publishing explicit security documentation and adopting security.txt standards.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  2. Implement and publicly document a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Ensure all recommended security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) are explicitly set and documented.
  4. Enhance contact information availability by including verified company emails and phone numbers for support and security.
  5. Maintain and regularly audit third-party scripts and services to prevent introduction of vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ARD
Description
Alle Inhalte der ARD Mediathek im Überblick: Livestreams, Nachrichten, Filme, Serien und spannende Dokus. Hier anschauen!
Key services
Livestreams, News, Films, Series, Documentaries
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (implied by SPA structure and JS bundles), Swiper.js (for carousels), Custom font TheSans C5s, SVG icons, Service Worker (implied by manifest and prefetch), HTTPS
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure login redirect to accounts.ard.de
  • No inline scripts detected

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
CleverReach (newsletter service)
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional public media streaming platform for ARD.
  2. Content is rich with video streaming, series, documentaries, and live TV.
  3. Strong branding consistency with ARD logos and official links.
  4. No signs of adult or questionable content.
  5. No exposed security vulnerabilities detected in HTML content.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  7. Good privacy and cookie policy presence with consent mechanisms.
  8. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found in HTML; contact via help site.
  9. Uses modern web technologies and responsive design.
  10. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The ARD Mediathek website is built using modern frontend technologies, likely React, supported by Swiper.js for interactive carousels. The site is optimized for mobile devices with responsive design and accessibility features. Performance is fast with prefetching of scripts and optimized image loading. The use of custom fonts and SVG icons contributes to a polished user interface. No CMS or hosting provider details are explicitly detected. The technical implementation reflects a mature and well-maintained digital platform with minimal technical debt and good SEO practices.
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. 66/100Medium33 findingsView report
Reviews of this site

Share your experience with ardmediathek.de. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review ardmediathek.de.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.