Skip to main content

Security report for cnbcafrica.com

Africa Business News Pty. Ltd. · Media · South Africa

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

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

CNBC Africa is a prominent media platform delivering business and finance news focused on the African continent. It targets business professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs interested in African markets, providing real-time market data, video content, and insightful analysis. The website demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure using modern web technologies such as React and Next.js, ensuring a responsive and user-friendly experience across devices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and standard security headers, although there is room for improvement in incident response transparency and vulnerability disclosure. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear policies and cookie consent mechanisms. However, the absence of WHOIS registration data introduces some uncertainty about domain legitimacy, warranting further verification. Overall, CNBC Africa presents a professional, trustworthy, and content-rich platform with a solid business model in the media sector.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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 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';…
  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

  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 cnbcafrica.com

This scan found 21 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
75
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
70

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 cnbcafrica.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
27
Employees
0
Customers
26
Third parties
1
Weak passwords
4%

4 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 cnbcafrica.com.

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

CNBC Africa holds a strong market position as a leading African business news provider, leveraging partnerships with major social media platforms and advertising networks to monetize content. Its business model revolves around news publishing, market data provision, and event hosting, targeting a medium-sized audience primarily in South Africa and broader Africa. The company, Africa Business News Pty. Ltd., maintains consistent branding and high-quality content, which supports its credibility and audience engagement. The platform's extensive use of analytics and marketing tools indicates a data-driven approach to audience growth and monetization. The lack of direct contact emails or phone numbers suggests a preference for controlled communication channels via contact forms.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enabled and multiple security headers implemented, reducing common web vulnerabilities. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. The presence of cookie consent aligns with privacy regulations. However, the absence of a public security.txt file and explicit incident response contacts limits transparency and readiness for vulnerability reporting. The use of multiple third-party scripts necessitates ongoing monitoring to mitigate supply chain risks. Overall, the security maturity is good but could benefit from enhanced disclosure and formalized incident response mechanisms.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosure and improve transparency.
  2. Add explicit incident response contact information on the website.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to minimize supply chain vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance form security with CAPTCHA or bot mitigation techniques.
  5. Consider publishing a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Africa Business News Pty. Ltd.
Description
Business and finance news from across Africa. Entrepreneurs, small business, enterprise, public companies, earnings reports.
Key services
Business news reporting, Market data and analysis, Video content and livestream, Events and insights
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Outbrain, DoubleClick, Webmanifest, Google Fonts
Frameworks
Next.js
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
DoubleClick, Outbrain
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Outbrain
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and multimedia.
  2. Strong focus on African business and financial news.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanism.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact via form only.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and frameworks.
  6. No security.txt or explicit security incident response info found.
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, raising some legitimacy questions.
  8. Social media presence on major platforms confirmed.
  9. Advertising and tracking scripts are present but standard for media sites.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React and Next.js framework, leveraging server-side rendering for performance and SEO benefits. It uses Google Fonts for typography and integrates multiple analytics and advertising scripts including Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and Outbrain. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by rich media content and third-party scripts. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or headless CMS backend. Hosting provider details are not evident from the content. The technical stack supports a professional media platform but requires continuous optimization to maintain speed and security.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with cnbcafrica.com. 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 cnbcafrica.com.

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.