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Security report for harpercollins.com

HarperCollins · Media · United States

Low risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

HarperCollins is a globally recognized book publisher with a rich history dating back to 1817. The company operates a professional e-commerce website built on the Shopify platform, offering a wide range of books and author-related content. The site targets a general audience including readers, educators, and book clubs, positioning itself as a world-leading publisher with a strong market presence. The website features comprehensive content, clear navigation, and consistent branding, reflecting a mature digital presence. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies including Vue.js, jQuery, Algolia for search, and integrates multiple analytics and marketing tools such as Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and Visual Website Optimizer. Hosting and content delivery are managed via Shopify's CDN, ensuring fast performance and mobile optimization. Accessibility and SEO practices are well implemented, contributing to a positive user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and employs secure authentication via Auth0. While explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not published, the site uses CAPTCHA protections and avoids exposing sensitive data. Privacy and cookie policies are present with consent mechanisms, indicating good compliance with GDPR and related regulations. However, the absence of WHOIS data transparency for the domain is a concern, potentially due to privacy protection services. Overall, HarperCollins.com demonstrates a strong business and technical foundation with good security hygiene. The main risk lies in the lack of domain registration transparency and absence of published security policies. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security disclosures, publishing incident response contacts, and improving WHOIS transparency to bolster trust and compliance.

Scanned

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

4 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 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 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

  3. 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 harpercollins.com

This scan found 16 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

€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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

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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
55
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
78

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

HarperCollins holds a prominent position in the global publishing industry, leveraging a diversified business model that includes direct-to-consumer e-commerce and extensive author promotion. The company targets broad customer segments including general readers, educators, librarians, and book clubs. Revenue streams are primarily from book sales and licensing. The website ecosystem includes multiple partner domains focused on niche markets such as Christian publishing and academic resources, indicating a well-structured partnership network. The use of advanced analytics and marketing tools suggests a data-driven approach to customer engagement and growth. The brand's longevity and consistent digital presence underscore its competitive advantage and market leadership.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, secure authentication mechanisms, and use of CAPTCHA to mitigate automated abuse. Security headers are partially observed, and no critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of a dedicated security policy page and incident response contact information represents a compliance gap. The extensive use of third-party scripts necessitates ongoing monitoring to prevent supply chain risks. Privacy compliance is well addressed through cookie consent and privacy policies. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by formalizing security governance and transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact page to improve transparency and compliance.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Enhance WHOIS domain registration transparency to build trust and legitimacy.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities.
  5. Consider adding explicit Content-Security-Policy headers to strengthen browser security.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
HarperCollins
Description
Publishing great authors since 1817. Discover thousands of books and authors, plus get exclusives on new releases, bestsellers, and more, at harpercollins.com.
Key services
Book publishing, Online book sales, Author promotion
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Shopify, jQuery, Vue.js, Algolia, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, Bing Ads, Crazy Egg, Pinterest, Auth0, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), Tawk.to chat
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
Shopify
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of secure third-party authentication (Auth0)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of CAPTCHA on forms
  • Use of security and analytics scripts with integrity checks

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Facebook Analytics, Bing Analytics, Crazy Egg, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), Shopify Analytics
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Bing UET, Crazy Egg, Pinterest Tag, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO)
Marketing tools
Shopify Webhooks, Sailthru, Elevar Conversion Tracking
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally designed e-commerce platform for HarperCollins book publishing.
  2. No WHOIS data available for the domain, indicating possible privacy protection or registrar issues.
  3. Strong use of modern web technologies and analytics/tracking tools.
  4. No security or incident response policies explicitly published.
  5. No exposed sensitive data or obvious vulnerabilities detected.
  6. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies present with consent mechanisms.
  7. No adult or NSFW content detected; content is safe for general audiences.
  8. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected; full content accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a robust and modern technical stack centered on Shopify, utilizing Vue.js and jQuery for frontend interactivity and Algolia for advanced search capabilities. Integration with multiple analytics and marketing platforms enables comprehensive user behavior tracking and targeted advertising. The site demonstrates fast loading times, excellent mobile responsiveness, and good accessibility features. Hosting on Shopify's CDN ensures reliable performance and scalability. Technical debt appears minimal, though continuous monitoring of third-party dependencies is advised to maintain security and performance 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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