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Security report for inkandswitch.com

Ink & Switch · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

51/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Ink & Switch is an independent research lab focused on exploring innovative software concepts such as local-first software, malleable software, programmable ink, and universal version control. The lab produces academic essays, lab notebooks, and actively develops production software tools like Muse and Automerge. Their target audience includes scientists, journalists, creative thinkers, and software developers interested in advancing tools for thought. The website is professionally designed with excellent content quality and clear navigation, reflecting a mature digital presence. Technically, the site uses modern web standards, web fonts, and integrates a newsletter subscription service, though no CMS or hosting provider details are evident. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS implied but lacking explicit security headers and published security policies. Privacy compliance is low due to absence of privacy and cookie policies. The WHOIS data is missing or the domain appears unregistered, which raises concerns about domain legitimacy despite the professional nature of the website content. Overall, the site is trustworthy and safe for general audiences but would benefit from improved transparency and security practices.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

8 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.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  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 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 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';…

  3. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

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

Keep watching inkandswitch.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
0
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
51

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

Ink & Switch operates as a niche research lab in the technology sector, focusing on pioneering software architectures and user experience paradigms. Their business model revolves around research publication, open-source software development, and sponsorship/grant funding. The lab maintains a strong presence in academic and industry conferences, enhancing its credibility and market positioning. Key competitive advantages include their focus on local-first and malleable software, which addresses emerging needs in data ownership and user agency. The lab's partnership ecosystem includes open-source communities and conference organizers. Growth indicators include active publication and software development. However, the lack of publicly available company registration or domain WHOIS data may impact external trust assessments.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS usage implied but no explicit security headers detected in the provided data. There is no evidence of exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries. The site uses secure form submission methods for newsletter signups. However, the absence of published privacy policies, cookie consent mechanisms, security policies, and incident response contacts indicates gaps in compliance and readiness. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files were found. Overall, the security culture appears basic and could be enhanced by adopting standard security headers, publishing privacy and security policies, and establishing clear incident response channels.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve GDPR compliance and user trust.
  2. Add standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, and X-Frame-Options to enhance site security.
  3. Establish and publish an incident response policy and vulnerability disclosure program to improve security transparency and readiness.
  4. Verify and update domain registration information to ensure WHOIS data accuracy and domain legitimacy.
  5. Enhance analytics and tracking transparency by disclosing data collection and retention policies.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Ink & Switch
Description
An independent research lab exploring the future of tools for thought.
Key services
Research in local-first software, Malleable software, Programmable ink, Universal version control, Production software tools like Muse and Automerge
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, Web fonts (woff2), RSS feed, Form submission to buttondown.email
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS implied by og:url and links
  • No visible exposed sensitive data
  • Form uses POST method with target popup window

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Marketing tools
Buttondown email newsletter service
Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional research lab site with rich content and clear navigation
  2. No WHOIS data available, indicating possible domain registration issues
  3. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found
  4. No security policy or incident response info published
  5. No phone numbers or physical addresses found
  6. Contact email is provided in footer
  7. No analytics or tracking scripts detected
  8. No advertising or third-party ad networks present
  9. Site uses HTTPS as implied by URLs but no explicit security headers found in provided data
  10. Content is safe and suitable for general audiences
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built with modern HTML5 and CSS3 standards, using web fonts and responsive design techniques for good mobile optimization and accessibility. It integrates an external newsletter service (Buttondown) via a secure POST form. No CMS or JavaScript frameworks were detected in the provided HTML. Performance is moderate, with preloaded fonts and optimized images. SEO is supported by meta tags and Open Graph data. The absence of explicit hosting or infrastructure details limits deeper technical assessment. There is an opportunity to improve security headers and privacy compliance to reduce technical risks.
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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