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Security report for kobobooks.com

Rakuten Kobo · E-commerce · Finland

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

66/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Rakuten Kobo operates a leading global e-commerce platform specializing in digital reading products including eBooks, audiobooks, eReaders, and reading applications. The website targets a broad audience with a strong presence in Finland and worldwide, supported by a comprehensive catalog of over 6 million titles. The business model focuses on direct sales, subscription services (Kobo Plus), and hardware sales, positioning Kobo as a major player in the digital reading market under the Rakuten corporate umbrella. Technically, the site leverages modern web technologies such as React and Next.js, with a content management system powered by Builder.io and search capabilities enhanced by Algolia. The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, accessibility, and SEO, providing an excellent user experience. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though there is room for improvement in implementing and reporting security headers and publishing a dedicated security policy. Privacy compliance is strong, with clear privacy and cookie policies and GDPR adherence. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional, though the absence of WHOIS registration details is unusual but likely due to registry privacy restrictions. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security transparency and incident response readiness to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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

4 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 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 Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

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

Keep watching kobobooks.com

This scan found 13 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
0
Security headers
55
Email security
65
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
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 kobobooks.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
13,492
Employees
0
Customers
13,442
Third parties
50
Weak passwords
18%

34 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 kobobooks.com.

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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

Rakuten Kobo holds a strong market position as a global eBook and audiobook retailer with a diversified product offering including hardware and software. The company benefits from its parent company Rakuten's resources and brand recognition. Revenue streams include direct sales of digital content, subscription services, and eReader devices. The target customer segments range from casual readers to avid book enthusiasts globally, with localized stores such as the Finnish site analyzed. The partnership ecosystem includes various domain services and APIs supporting secure transactions and user management. Growth indicators include continuous content updates, promotional deals, and expansion of audiobook offerings. The company maintains a professional online presence with consistent branding and comprehensive content, supporting sustained competitive advantage in the digital reading industry.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced site-wide, secure cookie consent mechanisms, and no exposed sensitive data in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options suggests potential areas for enhancement. No public security policy or incident response contact information was found, which could limit transparency and responsiveness in case of security incidents. Compliance with GDPR is evident through privacy policy disclosures and consent banners. No vulnerabilities or malware indicators were detected. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by publishing detailed security policies and implementing additional HTTP security headers.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and readiness.
  2. Add and enforce HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  3. Provide clear contact channels for security incidents, such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  4. Continue to monitor and update privacy and cookie consent mechanisms to maintain GDPR compliance.
  5. Enhance WHOIS registration transparency if possible to improve domain trustworthiness perception.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Rakuten Kobo
Description
Open up to over 6 million eBooks and audiobooks on award-winning eReaders and the free Rakuten Kobo App. Find Daily Deals, read previews & reviews and get book recommendations.
Key services
eBooks sales, Audiobooks sales, eReaders hardware sales, Reading apps for multiple platforms, Subscription service Kobo Plus
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, CDN for images, Algolia search, Builder.io for content management, Google Site Verification
Frameworks
React, Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure cookie consent mechanism

Analytics and tracking

Services
Algolia Insights
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
builder.io pixel
Marketing tools
Algolia Insights
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking
  2. Strong e-commerce platform with global reach
  3. Good privacy and cookie consent mechanisms
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response page found
  6. Modern tech stack with React and Next.js
  7. Good SEO and accessibility practices
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack including React and Next.js frameworks, enabling server-side rendering and fast client-side interactivity. Content management is handled via Builder.io, allowing flexible content updates and A/B testing capabilities. Search functionality is powered by Algolia, providing efficient and relevant search results. The site uses CDN-hosted images and fonts for performance optimization. Mobile optimization and accessibility features are well implemented, ensuring a broad user reach. No technical debt or deprecated technologies were detected. Performance is fast with good SEO practices including meta tags, Open Graph, and structured data markup. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and provide more detailed hosting and infrastructure transparency.
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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