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Security report for hearst.com

Hearst Communications, Inc. · Media · United States

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Hearst Communications, Inc. is a large, diversified global media and information services company with operations spanning magazines, newspapers, television, real estate, healthcare, and ventures. The website reflects a professional corporate presence with consistent branding and a clear focus on providing information about the company's businesses and initiatives. The target audience is broad, including media consumers, business partners, and potential employees. The business model is diversified, leveraging multiple media and information channels to maintain a strong market position. Technically, the website is built on the Liferay CMS platform, utilizing modern web technologies such as React, Bootstrap, and Clay UI components. The site is mobile optimized and performs moderately well, with good SEO and accessibility features, though some accessibility improvements are possible. Analytics are implemented via Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, indicating a moderate level of user tracking. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with good SSL configuration and some security best practices like nonce-based inline scripts. However, explicit security headers like X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options are not clearly present. There is no visible cookie consent mechanism or published security policy, which are areas for improvement. The WHOIS data is unavailable, which slightly reduces trust but the overall site professionalism and social media presence support legitimacy. Overall, the website is a well-maintained corporate site with good content quality and technical implementation. Security posture is solid but could be enhanced with additional headers and transparency. Privacy compliance is adequate but would benefit from explicit cookie consent. The risk level is low, with recommendations focused on improving compliance and security transparency.

Scanned

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

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

5 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 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

    • 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

  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
    • High

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 25 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

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

Keep watching hearst.com

This scan found 20 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

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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
62
Security headers
50
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
73

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 including magazines, newspapers, television, healthcare information, and real estate. The company targets a wide audience from consumers to business partners and employees. Its business model leverages content creation, syndication, and diversified ventures. The presence of multiple subsidiaries and partner domains indicates a complex ecosystem. The website supports recruitment efforts and brand awareness. The use of Oracle Cloud for careers suggests enterprise-grade HR infrastructure. The company demonstrates consistent branding and trust signals, supporting its credibility in the media industry.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and use of nonce for inline scripts, reducing risks of XSS attacks. However, the absence of explicit security headers like X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options is a gap. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact reduces transparency and may impact user trust. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file was found, which is recommended for enterprise sites. Overall, the security posture is good but can be improved by adopting additional headers and publishing security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and verify security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against clickjacking and MIME sniffing.
  2. Add a visible cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and improve user transparency.
  3. Publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response contact information to build trust and provide clear guidance for security issues.
  4. Consider creating and hosting a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to meet higher standards and improve usability for all users.
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, Entertainment & Syndication, Real Estate, Healthcare Information Services, Ventures
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Liferay Portal, jQuery, Bootstrap, Clay UI, React, Vimeo Player API, Google Tag Manager
Frameworks
Liferay, Bootstrap
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • Nonce for inline scripts
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure form with POST method for search

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (gtag.js)
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. Professional corporate website for Hearst Communications.
  3. Uses modern web technologies and CMS (Liferay).
  4. Includes privacy policy and terms of use with high confidence.
  5. No explicit cookie consent banner detected.
  6. Contact email feedback@hearst.com found in footer.
  7. Social media links to official Hearst profiles present.
  8. WHOIS data unavailable, possibly due to privacy or registrar issues.
  9. No explicit security or incident response policies found.
  10. Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager used for tracking.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Liferay CMS platform, integrating modern JavaScript frameworks including React and Bootstrap for responsive design. The tech stack includes Clay UI components and jQuery for UI interactions. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are used for tracking. The site loads scripts efficiently with combo URLs and uses nonce attributes for inline scripts, indicating attention to security. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Mobile optimization is good, with responsive layouts and adaptive images. SEO is supported by meta tags and Open Graph data. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. Hosting details are not explicit but Oracle Cloud is used for HR-related services. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and well-implemented.
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. 77/100Low27 findingsView report
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