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Security report for are.na

Are.na · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Are.na is a niche technology platform focused on knowledge organization and collaborative idea building. It serves a community of students, hobbyists, and knowledge collectors with a freemium subscription model offering free and premium plans. The platform is independently operated and sustained by its members, emphasizing a user-centric business model. Technically, Are.na employs modern web technologies including React and Next.js, delivering a fast, mobile-optimized, and accessible user experience. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and appropriate security headers, though formal security policies and incident response plans are not publicly available. Privacy compliance is good, leveraging privacy-focused analytics but lacking a visible cookie consent mechanism. Overall, Are.na presents a professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained web presence with room for improvement in privacy transparency and security documentation.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of are.na. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

5 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"

    • 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 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

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

Keep watching are.na

This scan found 20 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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Full report

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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
30
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
71

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

Are.na occupies a unique market position as a tool for connected knowledge collectors and creative collaboration. Its freemium business model with premium subscriptions provides a sustainable revenue stream supported by a loyal user base. The company operates independently with a small team, focusing on product, engineering, editorial, and operations. The platform integrates with mobile apps and browser extensions, enhancing accessibility and user engagement. Strategic growth is community-driven, with emphasis on member support and educational plans. The absence of direct contact emails and phone numbers suggests a digital-first support approach. The use of privacy-respecting analytics aligns with the platform's ethos of thoughtful content curation and user respect.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers implemented, reducing common web vulnerabilities. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of a published security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure mechanism limits transparency and preparedness perception. No dedicated security contact channels were found, which could hinder timely incident reporting and response. The minimal use of tracking and privacy-focused analytics indicates a strong privacy culture. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing policies and communication channels.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a visible cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations and improve user trust.
  2. Publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response plan accessible from the website.
  3. Establish and publicize dedicated security contact emails such as security@are.na or abuse@are.na.
  4. Introduce a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly review and audit third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Are.na
Description
Are.na is online software for saving and organizing important content and a toolkit for assembling new worlds from scraps of the old. It serves students, hobbyists, and connected knowledge collectors.
Key services
Content saving and organization, Collaborative knowledge building, Premium subscription with unlimited blocks and features
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, JavaScript, CSS, Webfonts (woff2)
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web, iOS App, Android App
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms for login and signup

Analytics and tracking

Services
Fathom Analytics
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Fathom Analytics
Marketing tools
Fathom Analytics
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 no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is rich, well-structured, and professionally presented.
  3. Business model is transparent with clear pricing and subscription options.
  4. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and security headers.
  5. Privacy compliance is good but could improve cookie consent visibility.
  6. No suspicious or malicious elements detected.
  7. Use of minimal tracking with privacy-focused analytics (Fathom).
  8. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via web forms.
  9. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
Technical notes

Notes

Are.na utilizes a modern technology stack centered on React and Next.js, enabling server-side rendering and optimized performance. The site is well-structured with valid HTML and CSS, and it employs web fonts and responsive design for excellent mobile compatibility. The use of minimal external scripts and privacy-focused analytics contributes to fast loading times and reduced tracking footprint. No CMS was detected, indicating a custom-built platform tailored to the business needs. Hosting provider details are not explicit but the site benefits from CDN usage for assets. Technical risks are low, with opportunities to enhance SEO and accessibility further by adding more semantic markup and ARIA attributes.
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. 71/100Medium28 findingsView report
  2. 71/100Medium28 findingsView report
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