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Security report for branchable.com

Branchable · Technology · N/a

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Branchable is a niche hosting service specializing in providing easy-to-use wiki and blog hosting powered by Git and IkiWiki technologies. The platform targets individuals and small teams who want version-controlled websites with web-based editing capabilities. The business operates on a subscription model with tiered plans and emphasizes freedom and open-source software principles. Technically, the site uses older but stable technologies such as jQuery and IkiWiki, with a focus on simplicity and static site generation for performance. Security posture is moderate; HTTPS is implied but no advanced security headers or explicit policies are present. The absence of WHOIS registration data raises concerns about domain legitimacy, although the website content is professional and safe. Overall, the site is functional but would benefit from improved security practices and clearer business contact information.

Scanned

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

8 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 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';…

  3. 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

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

Keep watching branchable.com

This scan found 26 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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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
55
Security headers
15
Email security
60
DNS health
70
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
53
Average
49

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

Branchable occupies a specialized market segment offering Git-based wiki and blog hosting, leveraging open-source tools to appeal to technically inclined users valuing data ownership and freedom. Its competitive advantage lies in integrating Git version control with web hosting, enabling branching and merging workflows uncommon in typical hosting services. Revenue streams are subscription fees with multiple plans. The target customers are developers, hobbyists, and small teams needing simple but powerful hosting solutions. The company has a long history dating back to 2010 but lacks visible corporate structure or contact details, which may limit trust and growth. The ecosystem includes partnerships with Git and IkiWiki communities but no evident commercial partnerships. Strategic focus should include enhancing trust signals and expanding marketing reach.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a basic security posture with HTTPS usage and no visible sensitive data exposure. However, it lacks modern security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options, which are recommended to mitigate common web attacks. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response information is provided, limiting transparency. Privacy compliance is partial, with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or GDPR-specific indicators. The absence of contact information and security policies reduces the site's security maturity. Overall, the site is functional but would benefit from adopting best practices in web security and compliance to enhance user trust and reduce risk.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to improve protection against common web vulnerabilities.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner and enhance privacy compliance to align with GDPR and other regulations.
  3. Publish clear contact information including security and abuse contacts to improve transparency and incident response readiness.
  4. Introduce a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Improve mobile responsiveness and accessibility to enhance user experience and broaden audience reach.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Branchable
Description
Branchable offers easy hosting for websites, wikis, and blogs using Git and IkiWiki technology. It enables users to create and manage sites with version control and web-based editing.
Key services
Wiki hosting, Blog hosting, Git-based version control for websites, Control panel for site management
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Git, IkiWiki, jQuery, jQuery Cycle plugin
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
60/100
Good practices seen
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of HTTPS implied by site URL

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

Design
basic
User experience
basic
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
basic
Trustworthiness
moderate

Key observations

  1. Website is accessible and functional with rich content about hosting wikis and blogs.
  2. No WHOIS data available, indicating possible domain registration issues.
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers found on the site.
  4. No cookie consent mechanism detected despite privacy policy presence.
  5. No security.txt or explicit vulnerability disclosure found.
  6. Site uses older web technologies like jQuery but no modern frameworks detected.
  7. No social media links or company contact details provided.
  8. Pricing and hosting plans are clearly stated.
  9. Content is safe and suitable for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a simple technology stack centered around IkiWiki CMS and Git for version control, supplemented by jQuery and a slideshow plugin for UI effects. The site is statically generated, which benefits performance and scalability. However, the design and technical implementation are somewhat dated, lacking modern frameworks or responsive design features. SEO and accessibility are basic but functional. No advanced analytics or tracking scripts are detected, indicating minimal user tracking. The absence of detailed hosting provider information and security headers suggests room for infrastructure improvements. Overall, the technical foundation is stable but could be modernized to improve performance, security, and user experience.
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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