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Security report for hotlist-online.com

Other · Germany

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

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The website www.hotlist-online.com serves as a cultural platform dedicated to promoting independent book publishers and their award-winning titles, specifically focusing on the Hotlist 2025 awards. It provides detailed information about the award winners, jury, candidates, and supporting organizations. The platform targets literature enthusiasts, independent publishers, and the book trade, primarily within Germany. Technically, the site is built on the Jimdo CMS platform, leveraging common web technologies such as jQuery and Facebook Pixel for analytics and marketing. The site is mobile-optimized and presents a professional design with clear navigation. Security-wise, the site uses HTTPS and implements cookie consent mechanisms but lacks advanced security headers and explicit privacy policies, which are recommended for compliance and trust. The WHOIS data for the domain is missing or indicates the domain may be unregistered or privacy protected, which raises some concerns about domain legitimacy despite the professional content. Overall, the site is a credible cultural resource with moderate technical maturity and some room for improvement in privacy and security disclosures.

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

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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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

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

Keep watching hotlist-online.com

This scan found 25 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

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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
62
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
67

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 hotlist-online.com, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for hotlist-online.com right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

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

The Hotlist platform occupies a niche cultural segment promoting independent publishing in Germany. It leverages partnerships with recognized independent publishers and cultural institutions, enhancing its credibility and reach. The business model appears non-profit or promotional, focusing on cultural impact rather than direct revenue. The platform benefits from a community-driven approach with public voting and jury decisions, fostering engagement. Its ecosystem includes sponsors and supporters from the literary and publishing sectors. Growth potential lies in expanding digital presence and formalizing privacy and security practices to align with regulatory requirements and user expectations.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a basic security posture with HTTPS enabled and cookie consent implemented, indicating awareness of privacy regulations. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and lack of a published privacy policy or incident response contacts represent compliance gaps. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. The use of third-party scripts like Facebook Pixel introduces moderate tracking risks, which should be managed transparently. Incident response readiness and security culture indicators are not evident from the site content. Enhancing security headers, publishing privacy and security policies, and providing clear contact channels would improve the security maturity significantly.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy page detailing data collection, processing, and GDPR compliance.
  2. Implement security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Provide explicit contact information for security incidents and general inquiries.
  4. Regularly audit and minimize third-party scripts to reduce tracking and vulnerability exposure.
  5. Verify and update WHOIS domain registration information to improve domain legitimacy and trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Description
Die Hotlist präsentiert jährlich die besten Bücher aus unabhängigen Verlagen. Die Website informiert über die Hotlist 2025, die Preisträger, die Jury, Kandidaten, und Unterstützer. Es handelt sich um eine Plattform zur Förderung unabhängiger Verlage und deren Bücher.
Key services
Information on Hotlist book awards, Promotion of independent publishers, Publishing event announcements, Downloadable jury statements and lists
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Jimdo CMS, jQuery, Facebook Pixel, Jimdo CookieControl
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
65/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Facebook Pixel
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a cultural platform promoting independent book publishers and awards.
  2. Content is in German with multilingual navigation options.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main page.
  4. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented and active.
  5. No privacy policy or terms of service pages explicitly found.
  6. WHOIS data is missing or domain not found in registry.
  7. Uses Jimdo CMS and includes Facebook Pixel for tracking.
  8. No signs of adult or explicit content.
  9. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Jimdo CMS platform, which provides a stable and user-friendly content management environment. It uses jQuery and Facebook Pixel for interactivity and analytics. The site is mobile responsive with good SEO meta tags and Open Graph data for social sharing. Performance is moderate, with some room for optimization in loading speed and accessibility features. The technical stack is modern but could benefit from enhanced security configurations and privacy compliance tools. The hosting provider is Jimdo, a known platform for small to medium websites. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the site's cultural mission effectively but requires improvements in security and privacy implementation.
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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