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Security report for earthlink.net

EarthLink · Telecommunications · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

76/100

Risk levelLow

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

EarthLink is a well-established Internet Service Provider in the United States, offering a broad range of high-speed internet services including fiber, wireless, satellite, and rural internet. The company positions itself as a reliable and customer-focused ISP with extensive coverage and competitive pricing. Their website reflects a mature digital presence with modern technologies and comprehensive content tailored to residential and business customers. The site is well-optimized for SEO, mobile-friendly, and provides multiple customer engagement channels including phone, chat, and support portals. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and some security headers, though there is room for improvement in explicit security policies and vulnerability disclosure. Privacy compliance is partially addressed with a comprehensive privacy policy but lacks visible cookie consent mechanisms. WHOIS data is unavailable or protected, which slightly reduces transparency but is common for large enterprises. Overall, EarthLink presents a trustworthy and professional online presence with minor areas for enhancement in security transparency and privacy compliance.

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

3 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 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 earthlink.net

This scan found 19 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

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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
70
Email security
55
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
76

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

EarthLink operates in the telecommunications sector as a large ISP with a focus on fiber and rural internet markets. Their business model combines direct internet service provision with partnerships to extend coverage. The company targets residential and business customers seeking reliable, high-speed internet with no data caps and added perks. Their market position is strong, being one of the largest ISPs in the continental U.S. The website highlights customer testimonials and awards, reinforcing credibility. Revenue streams likely include subscription plans, business packages, and value-added services like security solutions. The partnership ecosystem includes broadbandsearch.net and perkswall.com, enhancing service offerings. Strategic observations suggest EarthLink leverages technology and customer service to differentiate from competitors and maintain growth.

Security posture

EarthLink demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, no exposed sensitive data, and use of security headers like cache control. However, the absence of a security.txt file, incident response policies, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates gaps in transparency and readiness. The website uses multiple third-party scripts for analytics and marketing, which require ongoing security audits to mitigate risks. Privacy compliance is partial, with a comprehensive privacy policy but no visible cookie consent banner, which may expose the company to regulatory scrutiny under GDPR and similar laws. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by formalizing security policies and enhancing user privacy controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a visible cookie consent mechanism to ensure GDPR and privacy compliance.
  2. Publish a security.txt file and vulnerability disclosure policy to improve transparency and incident response readiness.
  3. Add explicit security and incident response policy pages accessible from the website footer.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to minimize security risks.
  5. Enhance WHOIS transparency if possible or provide clear domain ownership information on the website.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
EarthLink, LLC
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
EarthLink
Description
EarthLink is an award-winning Internet Service Provider offering high-speed internet plans including fiber, wireless, satellite, and rural internet services across the continental U.S. They emphasize reliable connectivity, no data caps, and customer perks.
Key services
Fiber Internet, Wireless Home Internet, Satellite Internet, Rural Internet, Security & Privacy Solutions, Business Internet Packages
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (Next.js), FontAwesome, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Hotjar, Abtasty, NiceInContact (live chat), Autopilot SDK
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper labeling
  • Content Security Policy not explicitly detected but may be present

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Ahrefs Analytics, Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Hotjar, Ahrefs Analytics, Abtasty
Marketing tools
Autopilot SDK, NiceInContact Live Chat
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 no blocking detected.
  2. Strong branding and consistent design throughout the site.
  3. Multiple contact channels including phone, chat, and support links.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  5. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banner detected, which may be a compliance gap.
  6. WHOIS data is unavailable or protected, reducing transparency.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page found.
  8. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React-based framework (Next.js) with extensive use of JavaScript libraries including FontAwesome, Hotjar, Google Analytics, and marketing tools like Abtasty and Autopilot SDK. The site is well-optimized for performance and mobile responsiveness, with good accessibility features and SEO metadata. Hosting details are not explicitly found, but the presence of multiple CDN and analytics providers indicates a distributed infrastructure. The technical stack supports a rich user experience with dynamic content and interactive elements. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and implement advanced content security policies to further harden the site.
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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