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Security report for baltimorepublicmedia.org

Baltimore Public Media · Media · United States

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

62/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Baltimore Public Media is a regional non-profit public media organization delivering news, music, arts, and cultural programming through multiple radio stations and digital platforms. The organization targets Baltimore residents and communities, positioning itself as a key media provider with a community-focused mission. Technically, the website is built on Squarespace, leveraging modern web technologies and providing a responsive user experience with good SEO and accessibility basics. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and HSTS enabled, though some advanced security headers and privacy compliance features are missing. The absence of privacy and cookie policies, as well as vulnerability disclosure information, represents areas for improvement. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and safe for general audiences.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 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

7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  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 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';…

  3. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

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

Keep watching baltimorepublicmedia.org

This scan found 27 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

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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
62
Security headers
45
Email security
60
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
62

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

Baltimore Public Media operates in the media and non-profit sectors, focusing on public radio broadcasting and digital content delivery. Its business model relies on community support and donations, as evidenced by links to donation portals. The organization maintains partnerships with local radio stations WTMD and WYPR, enhancing its market presence. The website content and structure reflect a mature digital presence with clear branding and contact information, supporting credibility and audience engagement. Growth opportunities include enhancing privacy compliance and security transparency to align with best practices.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security baseline with enforced HTTPS and HSTS, protecting data in transit. However, it lacks several recommended security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options, which could mitigate risks like clickjacking and cross-site scripting. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The absence of a vulnerability disclosure policy or security contact limits incident response readiness. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing policies and consent mechanisms. Strengthening these areas would improve the overall security maturity and trustworthiness.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with user consent mechanisms to enhance GDPR compliance.
  2. Add security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to harden security posture.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting and incident response.
  4. Provide clear incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  5. Regularly review and update website security and privacy practices to maintain trust and compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Baltimore Public Media
Description
Baltimore Public Media provides rich, vibrant programming in news, music, arts, and culture across radio and digital formats, connecting and enriching Baltimore residents and communities.
Key services
Radio broadcasting (WTMD 89.7 FM, WYPR 88.1 FM), Digital media content, Podcasts
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Squarespace CMS, Google Fonts, Squarespace JavaScript libraries
Platforms
Squarespace
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • HSTS enabled

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. WHOIS data is unavailable or protected, limiting domain registration insights.
  3. Site uses Squarespace CMS with standard libraries and fonts.
  4. No explicit privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found on the site.
  5. Contact information is clearly provided in the footer with phone, email, and physical address.
  6. Social media presence includes Instagram and LinkedIn official accounts.
  7. External links point to legitimate partner radio stations and donation portals.
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  9. Site uses HTTPS with HSTS enabled, but lacks some advanced security headers.
  10. Content is safe, family-friendly, and focused on public media and community engagement.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is hosted on Squarespace, utilizing its built-in CMS and associated JavaScript and CSS libraries. The site loads with moderate speed and is mobile-optimized with responsive design. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Accessibility features are basic but present. The technical stack is modern but limited by the constraints of the Squarespace platform. There is no evidence of custom backend frameworks or advanced integrations. Performance and user experience are generally good, though opportunities exist to optimize loading times and enhance accessibility.
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

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