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Security report for forbes.com

Forbes · Media · United States

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

82/100

Risk levelLow

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

Forbes is a globally recognized media company specializing in business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle content. It holds a leading market position as a trusted source of business news and insights, targeting professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs. The company operates primarily through advertising and subscription-based revenue models, supported by a strong digital presence and social media integration. Technically, the website employs modern frameworks such as Bootstrap and uses optimized fonts and libraries to deliver a responsive and accessible user experience. The site is well-structured with comprehensive metadata and SEO optimizations, ensuring good performance and mobile compatibility. Security-wise, Forbes enforces HTTPS with strong security headers and no visible vulnerabilities, reflecting a mature security posture. Privacy compliance is robust, with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR requirements. Overall, Forbes demonstrates high business credibility and professionalism, though WHOIS data is unavailable likely due to registry restrictions, which does not impact the trustworthiness of the brand. Strategic recommendations include enhancing transparency on security policies and incident response, and maintaining regular security audits to uphold the strong security posture.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of forbes.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 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

2 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

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

Keep watching forbes.com

This scan found 14 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

€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

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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
70
Email security
87
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
82

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 forbes.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
9,018
Employees
3
Customers
8,908
Third parties
107
Weak passwords
12%

Latest record dated 2026-06-06 · 34 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 forbes.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –auth.forbes.com2026-06-06
  • –auth.forbes.com2026-06-01
  • er•••@forbes.comforbes.com2026-02-26

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

Forbes maintains a dominant position in the global media sector, focusing on business and financial news. Its competitive advantage lies in its brand legacy, comprehensive content offerings, and multi-channel distribution including social media platforms. The business model leverages advertising revenues and premium subscriptions, targeting a professional and affluent audience. Growth indicators include extensive digital reach and diversified content verticals. The partnership ecosystem includes major social media and advertising networks, supporting marketing and monetization efforts. Operationally, Forbes exhibits strong content quality and branding consistency, reinforcing its market leadership and trust among users.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a high level of security maturity with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no detected exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries. However, there is no explicit public incident response or vulnerability disclosure policy found, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. GDPR compliance is evident through privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. The absence of WHOIS data is noted but likely due to registry privacy policies rather than malicious intent. Overall, Forbes maintains a secure environment appropriate for a high-profile media company, with recommendations to formalize security policies and incident response communications.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a clear incident response and vulnerability disclosure policy to improve transparency and user trust.
  2. Conduct regular security audits to identify and remediate any emerging vulnerabilities or outdated libraries.
  3. Enhance visibility of data protection officer contact information to align with GDPR best practices.
  4. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies regularly to reflect evolving regulations and technologies.
  5. Implement additional user education on privacy and security practices to strengthen security culture.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Forbes
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Forbes
Description
Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.
Key services
Business news, Investment insights, Technology coverage, Entrepreneurship content, Leadership articles, Lifestyle features
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Bootstrap 3.3.7, Graphik font, Schnyder font, Highlander font, Swiper.js
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data detected
  • Secure forms with proper input fields

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Medianet
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Social media platforms
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 professional design
  2. Strong social media integration and presence
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms
  4. No security or WAF blocking detected
  5. WHOIS data unavailable, likely due to registry restrictions
  6. No adult or questionable content detected
  7. Advertising and analytics practices are transparent and standard for media sites
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern and stable technology stack including Bootstrap 3.3.7 for responsive design and custom fonts for branding consistency. The use of Swiper.js indicates interactive UI components. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed through comprehensive meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Hosting provider details are not evident from the data. Technical risks are minimal, but ongoing monitoring is recommended to maintain performance and security 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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 82/100Low19 findingsView report
  2. 82/100 +3Low19 findingsView report
  3. 79/100Low19 findingsView report
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