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Security report for firstdraftnews.org

First Draft · Media · United States

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

62/100

Risk levelMedium

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

First Draft is a US-based non-profit organization dedicated to combating misinformation and disinformation through research, training, and educational resources. The website serves as a comprehensive hub offering reports, courses, and guides aimed at journalists, educators, and the public. The organization is positioned as a trusted authority in media literacy and information disorder, with a consistent brand presence and a focus on open access content under Creative Commons licensing. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Bootstrap, jQuery, and various analytics and tracking tools. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, though accessibility features are basic. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS enabled and secure login forms, but lacks DNSSEC and explicit security headers. Privacy compliance is partial, with a cookie policy and consent mechanism present but no clear privacy policy or GDPR compliance statements. Contact information is limited to a generic Gmail address and login form, which slightly reduces business credibility. Overall, the site is professional and trustworthy but could improve in privacy transparency and security hardening.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
50/ 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

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. 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"

  3. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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 firstdraftnews.org

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
40
Email security
40
DNS health
45
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
Average
62

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 firstdraftnews.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
35
Employees
0
Customers
35
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
20%

2 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 firstdraftnews.org.

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

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Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

First Draft operates in the media and education sectors as a small non-profit entity focused on misinformation. Its business model centers on providing free, high-quality resources and training to a global audience concerned with information integrity. The organization leverages partnerships with major social media platforms and uses multiple analytics tools to understand user engagement. The presence of Creative Commons licensing and archived social media links indicates a commitment to openness and longevity. The lack of a corporate email and formal privacy policy suggests a lean operational structure typical of non-profits. The site’s market position is strong within its niche, serving journalists, educators, and researchers with authoritative content and tools. Growth potential lies in expanding training offerings and enhancing digital presence.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and secure login forms. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents missed opportunities to strengthen defenses against common web attacks. The use of multiple third-party scripts and tracking pixels increases the attack surface and privacy risks. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response policies are published, which could hinder timely handling of security incidents. The domain’s privacy-protected WHOIS registration is appropriate for the organization type and does not raise suspicion. Overall, while no critical vulnerabilities are evident, the security posture would benefit from enhanced header policies, DNS security, and transparency around security practices.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy detailing data collection, usage, and GDPR compliance.
  4. Use a company domain email address for contact to improve business credibility and trust.
  5. Establish and publish a vulnerability disclosure and incident response policy to enhance security transparency.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
First Draft
Description
First Draft is a non-profit organization focused on combating online misinformation and disinformation through research, training, and resources. It provides educational materials, research reports, and training courses to help users understand and respond to information disorder.
Key services
Research reports, Training courses, Educational resources, Tools and guides
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Bootstrap, Font Awesome, Tiny Slider, Lightbox, Flatpickr, Select2, Hotjar, Facebook SDK, Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Facebook Pixel
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • No DNSSEC
  • Use of Google site verification
  • Use of Facebook Pixel with noscript fallback
  • Secure login form with password field

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Hotjar, WordPress Stats (Jetpack)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Chartbeat, Hotjar, WordPress Stats (Jetpack)
Marketing tools
Chartbeat, Facebook Pixel, Hotjar
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is focused on combating misinformation with educational and research resources.
  3. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages found.
  4. Cookie policy is present with a consent mechanism.
  5. Contact email is a generic Gmail address, which may reduce trust slightly.
  6. Use of multiple third-party analytics and tracking tools.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy found.
  8. No explicit security headers detected in HTML content.
  9. Domain uses privacy protection in WHOIS, justified for this type of organization.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using a combination of Bootstrap for responsive design, jQuery for interactivity, and various third-party libraries such as Flatpickr and Select2 for enhanced UI components. Analytics and tracking are implemented via Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Hotjar, and Facebook Pixel, indicating a mature approach to user behavior analysis. Performance is moderate with multiple external dependencies but no evident blocking issues. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly with proper meta tags and structured data in JSON-LD format. Technical debt appears low, but security enhancements and accessibility improvements are recommended to future-proof the platform and ensure compliance with evolving standards.
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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