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Security report for designdirectory.com

Core77 Inc. · Other · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Core77 Design Directory is an established online platform providing a comprehensive guide to design firms and creative agencies, primarily targeting businesses and individuals seeking design services. The website offers extensive search and filtering capabilities across specialties, locations, and budgets, supported by a large database of over 5000 firms. The business operates under Core77 Inc., with a domain age dating back to 2002, indicating a mature presence in the design directory market. The platform includes premium listings and a newsletter subscription to engage its audience. Technically, the website employs a custom CMS with a technology stack including older versions of jQuery and jQuery UI, Modernizr, Typekit fonts, and integrates analytics and monitoring tools such as Google Analytics and New Relic. Performance is moderate with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO practices are basic but functional. Hosting details are limited but the domain registrar is Network Solutions, LLC. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with a valid SSL configuration and domain transfer protection. However, it lacks DNSSEC and explicit security headers, and uses outdated JavaScript libraries which may pose risks. Privacy compliance is basic; a privacy policy and terms of service are present but no cookie consent mechanism or detailed GDPR compliance indicators are found. Contact information is limited to a contact form without direct emails or phone numbers. Overall, the website is functional and professional with moderate security and privacy posture. Strategic improvements in security headers, updated libraries, cookie consent, and enhanced privacy compliance would strengthen trust and reduce risk.

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

6 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

    • 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 designdirectory.com

This scan found 25 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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
65
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
63

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

Core77 Design Directory holds a strong market position as a specialized directory for design firms and agencies, leveraging its long-standing domain and extensive listings. Its business model centers on providing searchable listings with premium options and engaging users via newsletters. The target customers are businesses and individuals seeking design expertise across multiple specialties and geographies. The company benefits from brand association with Core77 Inc. and partnerships with media outlets like Bloomberg Businessweek. Growth indicators include a large database and active project showcases. The platform's ecosystem includes search refinement tools and AJAX-based dynamic content updates, supporting user engagement and data-driven insights.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protection enabled. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options reduces its defense-in-depth. The use of an outdated jQuery version (1.4.4) introduces potential vulnerabilities. No explicit incident response or security policy information is provided, and no security.txt or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are found. Privacy compliance is minimal, lacking cookie consent and GDPR indicators. The site collects user data via forms and analytics scripts but does not clearly communicate data retention or protection measures. Overall, the security posture is functional but requires enhancements to meet modern standards and regulatory expectations.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection to mitigate common web attacks.
  3. Upgrade JavaScript libraries, especially jQuery, to current supported versions to reduce vulnerability exposure.
  4. Add a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to comply with privacy regulations and improve user transparency.
  5. Publish explicit security and incident response policies, including a security.txt file and vulnerability disclosure program, to enhance trust and preparedness.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Core77 Inc.
Description
A comprehensive guide to the best design firms and creative agencies, listing over 5000 firms and agencies in 12 areas of practice.
Key services
Design firm directory listings, Search and filtering by specialty, location, and budget, Newsletter subscription, Project showcases
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 1.4.4, jQuery UI, Modernizr 1.6, Typekit fonts, Google Analytics (Universal and GA4), AddThis social sharing, New Relic monitoring
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
65/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (Universal and GA4), New Relic
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
New Relic, AddThis
Marketing tools
AddThis social sharing
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-established design directory with extensive listings and filtering options.
  2. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners detected, though privacy and terms pages exist.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via form only.
  4. Use of older jQuery version (1.4.4) may pose security risks.
  5. No DNSSEC enabled for domain, which is a security improvement opportunity.
  6. Website uses HTTPS and has clientTransferProhibited status on domain, indicating domain transfer protection.
  7. No visible social media links or company phone numbers on homepage.
  8. Analytics and tracking scripts are present but privacy compliance is basic.
Technical notes

Notes

The website runs on a custom CMS platform using legacy JavaScript libraries such as jQuery 1.4.4 and jQuery UI components, which may pose security and compatibility risks. It integrates Typekit for fonts and uses Google Analytics (both Universal and GA4) alongside New Relic for performance monitoring. The site employs AJAX for dynamic search refinement, enhancing user experience. Performance is moderate with basic mobile responsiveness and accessibility. SEO is supported by meta tags but lacks advanced structured data or Open Graph tags. Hosting details are not explicit, but domain registration is with Network Solutions, LLC. The site would benefit from modernization of its tech stack and improved front-end optimization.
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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