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Security report for f1000.com

F1000 Research Ltd. · Education · United Kingdom

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

79/100

Risk levelLow

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

F1000 Research Ltd. operates a professional open research publishing platform and consulting services aimed at researchers, funders, and research institutions globally. The company is positioned as a reputable player in the open access academic publishing sector, with partnerships including major funders such as the European Commission and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence built on WordPress with modern technologies like React and Bootstrap, providing a responsive and accessible user experience. Privacy and cookie policies are well implemented with consent management, reflecting good compliance with GDPR standards. However, the absence of WHOIS registration data for the domain www.f1000.com raises concerns about domain legitimacy verification, although the branding and external references support the company's authenticity. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and tracking consent, but could be improved by adding explicit security headers and publishing a security policy. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-structured, supporting the company's business goals effectively.

Scanned

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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  2. 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
    • 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

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Keep watching f1000.com

This scan found 17 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
52
Security headers
90
Email security
60
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
Average
79

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 f1000.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
446
Employees
1
Customers
403
Third parties
42
Weak passwords
22%

Latest record dated 2026-03-27 · 1 subdomain 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 f1000.com.

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Masked preview

  • –f1000.com2026-03-27

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

F1000 Research Ltd. targets the academic and research community with open research publishing and consulting services. Their business model focuses on accelerating knowledge dissemination through open access platforms and tailored consulting to organizations aiming to meet open research goals. The company benefits from strong partnerships with influential funders and institutions, enhancing its market position. The website content and structure indicate a medium-sized enterprise with a clear focus on education and research sectors. The lack of direct contact emails or phone numbers suggests a preference for managed contact via forms, possibly to control communication channels. The company appears to be a subsidiary or closely related to Taylor & Francis, a major academic publisher, which adds credibility. Growth indicators include active blogs, webinars, and resource offerings to support researchers. Strategic observations include the need to improve transparency around domain registration and security policies to strengthen trust further.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS and integrates consent management tools, indicating a baseline security and privacy awareness. Tracking technologies like Google Analytics and Twitter Ads are used with user consent, aligning with GDPR compliance. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a gap that could expose the site to certain web-based attacks. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact reduces transparency and preparedness perception. There is no evidence of a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file, which are best practices for mature security postures. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing policies and improving technical defenses.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  2. Add essential security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection.
  3. Verify and update WHOIS domain registration information to ensure transparency and trustworthiness.
  4. Consider establishing a vulnerability disclosure program and publishing a security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance contact information availability by providing verified company emails or phone numbers for support and inquiries.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
F1000 Research Ltd.
Description
F1000 provides open research publishing services to funders, institutions, and societies worldwide. Partner with F1000 today to maximize research impact.
Key services
Open research publishing platform (F1000Research), Open research consulting, Publishing venues, Resources for researchers
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Gutenberg plugin, Bootstrap, React, Google Tag Manager, Twitter Universal Website Tag, Transcend Consent Manager
Frameworks
WordPress, Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management implemented
  • Use of Google Tag Manager and Twitter tracking with consent
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Twitter Ads
Tracking pixels
Twitter Universal Website Tag
Marketing tools
Transcend Consent Manager
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. Professional and consistent branding aligned with F1000 Research Ltd.
  3. Strong focus on open research publishing and consulting services.
  4. Good implementation of privacy and cookie policies with consent management.
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact via form only.
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response information published.
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, which is a concern for domain legitimacy verification.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS using the Gutenberg editor and incorporates modern frontend technologies including React and Bootstrap for responsive design. It uses Google Tag Manager and Twitter tracking scripts integrated with a consent management platform (Transcend) to comply with privacy regulations. The site loads multiple CSS and JS assets efficiently and includes SEO optimizations such as meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. Accessibility features like skip links and ARIA labels are present, contributing to a good user experience. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization in asset loading and caching strategies. No hosting provider details were identified from the content. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and well-maintained, supporting the business objectives effectively.
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. 79/100Low25 findingsView report
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