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Security report for hachyderm.io

Hachyderm · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Hachyderm.io operates as an independent Mastodon social networking server primarily serving LGBTQIA+ and BLM communities within the tech industry worldwide. It provides a safe, moderated space for social interaction leveraging the open-source Mastodon platform. The website demonstrates a consistent brand and community focus with active user engagement and a profile directory. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies including React and is hosted on AWS infrastructure, ensuring reasonable performance and mobile optimization. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and clientTransferProhibited domain status, though DNSSEC is not enabled and some security headers are not explicitly confirmed. Privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but lacking cookie consent and terms of service. Business credibility is moderate given the community-driven nature and absence of formal company contact details. Overall, the site is trustworthy and safe for general audiences.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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. 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

  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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 19 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates
    • 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

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

Keep watching hachyderm.io

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.

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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
65
Security headers
75
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
75

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

Hachyderm.io targets a niche market segment of tech professionals aligned with social justice causes, differentiating itself as a safe and inclusive Mastodon instance. Its business model is community-centric, relying on federated social networking without commercial advertising or tracking. The platform fosters engagement through trending posts, hashtags, and a profile directory. The domain age and privacy-protected WHOIS data align with typical community-run social platforms. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not evident. Growth indicators include active user statistics and ongoing content updates. The ecosystem is open-source based, leveraging Mastodon's codebase and community.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain status clientTransferProhibited, reducing risk of unauthorized transfers. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which could expose DNS spoofing risks. Security headers are not fully documented in the HTML but likely present given Mastodon's standards. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The absence of explicit incident response or security policies is a compliance gap. No cookie consent mechanism impacts GDPR compliance. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved with DNSSEC and published security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish comprehensive terms of service and vulnerability disclosure policies to improve transparency and compliance.
  3. Implement a cookie consent mechanism to align with GDPR and privacy best practices.
  4. Add explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options if not already present.
  5. Consider publishing incident response and security contact information to improve trust and readiness.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Hachyderm
Description
Hachyderm is a safe space, LGBTQIA+ and BLM, primarily comprised of tech industry professionals world wide.
Key services
Mastodon social networking, Community safe space, Profile directory
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.4.3, React, JavaScript ES modules, AWS DNS (Route53)
Frameworks
React, Rails (implied by mastodon backend)
Platforms
Mastodon federated social network
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • clientTransferProhibited domain status
  • no exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon social network instance focused on LGBTQIA+ and BLM communities in tech.
  2. Content is user-generated posts with images and hashtags.
  3. No direct company contact emails or phone numbers found.
  4. Privacy policy is present but basic; no cookie consent or terms of service found.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  6. Uses modern web technologies and is hosted on AWS infrastructure.
  7. DNSSEC is not enabled which is a minor security gap.
  8. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Mastodon platform version 4.4.3, utilizing React and modern JavaScript modules for frontend interactivity. Hosting is on AWS infrastructure as indicated by DNS nameservers. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and accessible navigation. Performance is moderate with no evident broken elements. SEO is basic with meta tags and Open Graph data present. No third-party advertising or tracking scripts were detected, indicating a privacy-conscious implementation. Technical debt appears low, but enabling DNSSEC and enhancing security headers would modernize the security posture further.
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. 76/100Low27 findingsView report
  2. 76/100Low26 findingsView report
  3. 76/100Low28 findingsView report
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