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Security report for krebsonsecurity.com

Krebs on Security · Media · N/a

Medium risk. 9 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

57/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Krebs on Security is a well-established independent cybersecurity news and investigative journalism website founded in 2009. It provides in-depth reporting on cybersecurity incidents, cybercrime, and related technology topics, targeting security professionals and the general public interested in security news. The website operates on a WordPress CMS platform, leveraging modern web technologies such as jQuery, Google Fonts, and Font Awesome, and is protected by Google's Project Shield for DDoS mitigation. The site is hosted with DNS managed by Google Domains and uses HTTPS with a good SSL configuration, although DNSSEC is not enabled. Security best practices are partially implemented, with room for improvement in security headers and explicit security policies. Privacy and cookie policies are not found, indicating a gap in compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR. Contact information is limited to social media profiles, with no direct emails or phone numbers provided. Advertising is present from reputable cybersecurity and IT vendors, supporting the site's business model. Overall, the website is professional, content-rich, and trustworthy, but could enhance privacy compliance and security posture.

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

9 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 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 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

    • 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 krebsonsecurity.com

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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
15
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
57

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

Krebs on Security holds a strong market position as a respected independent cybersecurity news source. Its business model relies on advertising and investigative journalism, targeting cybersecurity professionals and enthusiasts. The site maintains partnerships with known cybersecurity vendors such as KnowBe4 and Gartner, which advertise on the platform. The content is regularly updated with high-quality articles covering a wide range of security topics, including data breaches, ransomware, phishing, and emerging cyber threats. The website's longevity and domain age support its credibility. However, the lack of explicit privacy and security policies may pose compliance risks. The site's technical infrastructure is modern but could benefit from enhanced security configurations. The absence of direct contact information suggests a focus on social media engagement and subscription-based communication.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security posture with HTTPS enforced and protection via Google's Project Shield against DDoS attacks. Domain registration status flags prevent unauthorized transfers, enhancing domain security. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which is a recommended security enhancement. No security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or Strict-Transport-Security were detected, representing an area for improvement. The site lacks publicly available security policies, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, which limits transparency and readiness for security incidents. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were identified in the analysis. Overall, the security posture is solid but could be strengthened by implementing additional security headers, enabling DNSSEC, and publishing security-related policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to improve DNS security and prevent DNS spoofing.
  2. Implement and publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to enhance GDPR compliance.
  3. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to improve browser security.
  4. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Provide clear contact information for security incidents and general inquiries to improve transparency and trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Krebs on Security
Description
Krebs on Security is a media website providing in-depth security news and investigative journalism focused on cybersecurity, cybercrime, and related topics.
Key services
Cybersecurity news reporting, Investigative journalism, Security analysis
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.2.2, jQuery 3.6.4, Colorbox jQuery plugin, Google Fonts (Roboto), Font Awesome, Google DNS, Google Project Shield (DDoS protection)
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Project Shield for DDoS protection
  • Client and server domain status prohibiting unauthorized transfers

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Ad networks
KnowBe4, Gartner
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-established independent cybersecurity news source.
  2. Content is regularly updated with in-depth investigative articles.
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie policies found on the homepage or main navigation.
  4. No visible contact emails or phone numbers; contact likely via social media or subscription forms.
  5. Uses WordPress CMS with standard plugins and Google Fonts.
  6. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy detected.
  7. Advertising is present but limited to known cybersecurity and IT vendors.
  8. No signs of adult or NSFW content.
  9. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected; site fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.2.2 with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Colorbox plugin for galleries, Google Fonts, and Font Awesome icons. Hosting and DNS are managed via Google Domains and Google Cloud infrastructure, with DNS servers pointing to Google Cloud DNS. The site uses HTTPS with a good SSL configuration and is protected by Google's Project Shield for DDoS mitigation. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and basic accessibility features. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and RSS feeds. The site uses standard WordPress plugins and themes, with no outdated or vulnerable libraries detected. Technical risks include the absence of DNSSEC and missing security headers, which could be addressed to reduce attack surface and improve security posture.
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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