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Security report for hearst.com

Hearst Communications, Inc. · Media · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS and Security headers.

Security score

77/100

Risk levelLow

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

Hearst Communications, Inc. operates a large, diversified media and information services business with a global footprint. The website reflects a mature enterprise with multiple business units including magazines, newspapers, television, real estate, and healthcare information services. The digital presence is built on modern technologies such as React and Liferay, providing a responsive and accessible user experience. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and include consent mechanisms, reflecting good compliance practices. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and security headers, though explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly available. The absence of WHOIS data is a notable gap but does not detract significantly from the overall legitimacy given the strong corporate branding and content. Strategic recommendations include publishing security policies, vulnerability disclosure information, and enhancing transparency around incident response.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 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. 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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 23 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

  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 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';…

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

Keep watching hearst.com

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.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

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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
54
Security headers
50
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
77

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

Hearst holds a strong market position as a diversified media conglomerate with a broad portfolio of subsidiaries and business units. The company targets a general audience with a focus on media consumers and business partners. Revenue streams likely include advertising, subscription services, syndication, and real estate ventures. The website integrates social media and career portals, indicating active engagement with stakeholders. The partnership with Oracle Cloud for HR systems suggests robust enterprise infrastructure. The company demonstrates consistent branding and professional content, supporting its enterprise status and market leadership.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with good SSL configuration and security headers, indicating a baseline of security best practices. Forms appear secured by the underlying Liferay platform. However, the lack of publicly available security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The security score is good but could be enhanced by publishing formal security documentation and establishing clear communication channels for security incidents.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and trust.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program, including a security.txt file.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance contact information with dedicated security and abuse email addresses.
  5. Maintain and monitor WHOIS registration data to ensure domain registration transparency.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Hearst Communications, Inc.
Description
Hearst is a leading global, diversified information, services and media company with operations in 40 countries.
Key services
Magazines, Newspapers, Television, Real Estate, Entertainment & Syndication, Healthcare Information Services
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Liferay Portal, jQuery, Bootstrap, AlloyUI, CKEditor, Google Tag Manager, SVG4Everybody
Frameworks
Liferay, React
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens (implied by Liferay)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of nonce in inline scripts

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics 4
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Analytics 4
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Corporate website for Hearst Communications with extensive media and business information.
  2. No WHOIS data available, limiting domain registration verification.
  3. Strong privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and frameworks.
  5. No security policy or incident response information publicly available.
  6. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt found.
  7. Contact information limited to a general feedback email and no phone numbers found.
  8. Social media presence is well integrated.
  9. No adult or questionable content detected.
  10. Website is fully accessible without WAF or blocking mechanisms.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern tech stack including React and Liferay CMS, leveraging Bootstrap and AlloyUI for UI components. It uses Google Analytics 4 for tracking and Google Tag Manager for marketing integration. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices evident from meta tags and structured data. Performance is moderate, with combined scripts and stylesheets to optimize loading. The absence of hosting provider details limits full infrastructure assessment. Overall, the technical implementation supports a professional and scalable digital presence suitable for a large enterprise.
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. 73/100Medium28 findingsView report
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