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Security report for intensedebate.com

Automattic Inc. · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

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

IntenseDebate is a commenting system service owned by Automattic Inc., providing enhanced comment features such as threaded replies, social media login integration, email notifications, and moderation tools. The service targets bloggers and website owners seeking to increase reader engagement and community interaction. The website is professionally designed with clear navigation and good content relevance, reflecting a mature and stable business offering. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies, integrates with WordPress and other blogging platforms, and is hosted on Automattic's infrastructure, ensuring reliable performance and moderate loading speeds. Security measures include HTTPS enforcement, spam filtering via Akismet, and anti-clickjacking scripts, though there is room for improvement in DNS security and security headers. Privacy compliance is strong, with comprehensive policies linked from the site and GDPR considerations addressed. Overall, the site demonstrates a high level of trustworthiness and business credibility.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

6 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

    • 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 intensedebate.com

This scan found 23 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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  • 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
52
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
66

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 intensedebate.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
35,701
Employees
0
Customers
35,701
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
9%

9 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for intensedebate.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The business operates in the technology sector, focusing on SaaS comment system solutions integrated with popular blogging platforms. Its competitive advantage lies in social media integration, email-based comment moderation, and reputation scoring for commenters. Revenue likely derives from premium features or integrations, supported by Automattic's ecosystem. The target market includes bloggers, online communities, and website owners seeking to enhance user engagement. The company benefits from strong brand association with Automattic and partnerships with Akismet and Gravatar. Growth indicators include long domain age and consistent branding. Strategic observations suggest opportunities to expand security transparency and direct contact channels to improve customer trust.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain status protections preventing unauthorized transfers or deletions. Use of Akismet for spam filtering and anti-clickjacking scripts enhance security. However, the absence of DNSSEC and additional security headers represents potential vulnerabilities. No explicit security policy or incident response contacts are published, which could hinder rapid response to security incidents. Privacy policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, indicating good data protection practices. Overall, the security maturity is moderate to good but could be improved with enhanced DNS security and published security governance documents.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement additional HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy page and provide clear incident response contact information.
  4. Add a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Consider adding direct company contact information on the website to improve transparency and trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Automattic Inc.
Description
IntenseDebate is a feature-rich comment system for WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and many other website platforms that enhances and encourages conversation on blogs or websites.
Key services
Comment system integration, Threaded comments, Email notifications, Social media login (Facebook Connect, Twitter), Moderation tools, Spam filtering with Akismet
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, CSS, HTML5, Akismet spam filter, Gravatar integration
Platforms
WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDelete/Transfer/Update prohibited domain status
  • Use of Akismet for spam filtering
  • Anti-clickjacking script present

Analytics and tracking

Services
a8c-analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
a8c-analytics
Marketing tools
a8c-analytics
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. Content is focused on a commenting system service integrated with social media and email notifications.
  3. Strong association with Automattic Inc., a reputable technology company.
  4. Good privacy and cookie policy presence with GDPR compliance.
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the homepage.
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response contact information found.
  7. Use of Akismet spam filtering and anti-clickjacking scripts indicates attention to security.
  8. No DNSSEC enabled, which is a recommended security improvement.
  9. No visible forms on the homepage except links to sign in and sign up pages.
  10. External links mostly to trusted domains related to Automattic and WordPress ecosystem.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using standard web technologies including HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, with integrations for Akismet spam filtering and Gravatar profiles. It supports multiple blogging platforms such as WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger. Hosting is managed by Automattic, indicated by the nameservers. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and basic accessibility features. SEO is well addressed through meta tags and structured content. The site uses external scripts hosted on WordPress.com domains for analytics and login functionality. There is no evidence of outdated or vulnerable libraries. Technical risks are minimal but could be reduced further by modernizing security headers and enabling DNSSEC.
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. 66/100Medium31 findingsView report
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