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Security report for ct.de

Heise Medien GmbH & Co. KG · Media · Germany

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

82/100

Risk levelLow

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

Heise Medien GmbH & Co. KG operates the website www.heise.de/ct, a leading German technology media platform offering IT news, hardware and software reviews, podcasts, and video content. The site targets IT professionals and technology enthusiasts with high-quality, comprehensive content and a strong subscription model. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies including InterRed CMS, consent management via Sourcepoint, and analytics with Webtrekk, ensuring good performance and mobile optimization. Security posture is strong with HTTPS, security headers, and GDPR compliance, though explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly detailed. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-positioned in the German technology media market.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of ct.de. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 100 · Low
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

2 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 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 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 ct.de

This scan found 16 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.

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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
95
Security headers
65
Email security
75
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
Average
82

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 ct.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
95
Employees
0
Customers
95
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
9%

6 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 ct.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

Heise Medien holds a strong market position as a reputable technology media publisher in Germany, with multiple subsidiary brands and services such as Telepolis and heise autos. The business model combines advertising, subscriptions, and affiliate marketing. The company targets a specialized audience of IT professionals and tech enthusiasts, leveraging a broad content ecosystem including magazines, podcasts, and video channels. Partnerships and services like heise shop and heise academy enhance revenue streams and customer engagement. The brand is consistent and trusted, with clear digital maturity and a focus on privacy compliance.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and GDPR-compliant consent mechanisms. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analysis. However, the absence of a publicly accessible security policy or incident response contact limits transparency. There is no evidence of vulnerability disclosure programs or security.txt files. Overall, the security practices align with industry standards for media websites, but could be improved by publishing explicit security and incident response information.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact channels such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  3. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program and security.txt file.
  4. Enhance transparency on data retention policies related to analytics and tracking.
  5. Continue monitoring and updating third-party libraries to avoid vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Heise Medien GmbH & Co. KG
Description
Aktuelle IT-Nachrichten, Hardware- und Software-Tests, Know-how und Praxisanleitungen zu Betriebssystemen, Smartphones, Mini-Computern und noch viel mehr.
Key services
IT news, Hardware and software reviews, Technical guides, Podcasts, Video channels, Magazine subscriptions
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, InterRed CMS, Cloudimg.io (image optimization), Podigee (podcast player), YouTube embeds, Kameleoon (A/B testing), Sourcepoint CMP (consent management), UpScore (recommendation engine), Webtrekk (analytics), Matomo (possible), Responsive design
Frameworks
InterRed CMS
Platforms
Web, Mobile web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management for GDPR
  • Secure login and registration forms
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Webtrekk
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
UpScore, Kameleoon
Tracking pixels
Webtrekk
Marketing tools
Sourcepoint CMP, Kameleoon
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional technology media publication in German language.
  2. Content includes news, reviews, podcasts, videos, and subscription services.
  3. Strong GDPR and privacy compliance with consent management.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and performance optimizations.
  5. Multiple social media channels linked and active.
  6. No security or content blocking detected.
  7. No suspicious or malicious indicators found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the InterRed CMS platform, utilizing modern JavaScript frameworks and third-party services for analytics, consent management, and content delivery. Image optimization is handled via cloudimg.io, and podcasts are integrated using Podigee. The site is responsive and optimized for mobile devices, with good SEO practices including meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Performance is fast with asynchronous script loading and prefetching. Technical risks are minimal, but continuous updates and monitoring of third-party scripts are recommended to maintain security and performance.
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. 82/100Low25 findingsView report
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