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Security report for docsociety.org

Doc Society · Media · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Doc Society is a well-established non-profit organization founded in 2005, dedicated to supporting independent documentary filmmakers and media makers worldwide. Their mission centers on backing independent storytelling and building a resilient global ecosystem for media in the public interest. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand with clear messaging and a focus on social impact through media. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies including Bootstrap, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and CookieHub for consent management, hosted on AWS infrastructure. The site is mobile optimized and provides a good user experience with clear navigation and relevant content. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent implemented, though some security headers are missing and DNSSEC is not enabled. Privacy compliance is strong with accessible privacy and cookie policies and GDPR-aligned consent mechanisms. Business credibility is supported by transparency, partner listings, and professional content, though no phone or physical address is provided. Overall, the site is trustworthy and well-maintained with room for improvement in security headers and incident response disclosures.

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

4 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 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

  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 Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching docsociety.org

This scan found 23 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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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
40
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
69

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

Doc Society operates in the media and non-profit sectors, focusing on funding and supporting independent documentary projects globally. Their market position is strong within the documentary and independent media ecosystem, leveraging partnerships with recognized organizations such as BFI and Good Pitch. The business model relies on grants, donations, and partnerships to fund filmmakers and media projects. The target audience includes filmmakers, journalists, cultural organizations, and funders interested in social impact media. The organization demonstrates growth and maturity with a 19-year history and a clear strategic focus on climate and democracy story units. Their partnership ecosystem is broad and well-integrated, enhancing their influence and reach in the independent media space.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and a cookie consent mechanism that aligns with GDPR requirements. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options reduces the overall security robustness. DNSSEC is not enabled, which could improve DNS security. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The lack of published security policies or incident response contacts suggests an area for improvement in transparency and readiness. Overall, the security posture is good but could be enhanced by implementing recommended headers and publishing security documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Enable DNSSEC for the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and preparedness.
  4. Establish a vulnerability disclosure policy and consider adding a security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and dependencies to mitigate risks from outdated components.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Doc Society
Description
Doc Society is an innovative non-profit organization working globally with filmmakers, artists, journalists to support independent media and storytelling. They focus on enabling access to media in the public interest and building a global ecosystem for independent media.
Key services
Funding and grants for documentary films, Support for independent media makers, Building media ecosystems, Story units focused on climate and democracy
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.1.0, Bootstrap 5.0.2, Google Tag Manager, CookieHub Consent Management Platform, htmx 1.9.2, ScrollReveal, Tilt.js
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
CookieHub
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and content-rich.
  2. Clear focus on independent documentary and media support.
  3. Cookie consent and privacy policies are implemented and accessible.
  4. No terms of service page found.
  5. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  6. No phone numbers or physical addresses found on site.
  7. Social media presence on Facebook and Instagram confirmed.
  8. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  9. No WAF or blocking detected; site fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using a modern technology stack including Bootstrap 5, jQuery, and various JavaScript libraries for UI effects and consent management. Hosting is on AWS infrastructure, indicated by the DNS servers. Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of analytics and consent scripts. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and uses Google Fonts for typography. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured navigation. Accessibility is basic but present, with some ARIA roles and labels used in cookie consent dialogs. There is no explicit CMS detected, suggesting a custom or static site build. Technical risks include missing security headers and lack of DNSSEC, which should be addressed to improve overall security and resilience.
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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