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Security report for lemmy.ca

Fedecan (non-profit) · Technology · Canada

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

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Lemmy.ca is a Canadian non-profit community platform focused on providing a federated social networking experience within the fediverse ecosystem. Operated by Fedecan, it targets Canadian users but welcomes a global audience. The platform emphasizes community moderation, user donations for funding, and clear rules to maintain a respectful environment. Technically, the site uses modern JavaScript frameworks such as Inferno.js and Bootstrap, hosted with Cloudflare DNS and served over HTTPS with strong security headers. While the site lacks a cookie consent mechanism and formal security policies, it maintains good security hygiene and privacy respect. Overall, Lemmy.ca presents a trustworthy and well-maintained community platform with a strong Canadian identity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
50/ 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"

  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

    • 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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching lemmy.ca

This scan found 22 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
65
Security headers
40
Email security
85
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
Average
68

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

Lemmy.ca occupies a niche market within the fediverse social networking space, focusing on Canadian users and communities. Its non-profit business model relies on user donations and community engagement. The platform's competitive advantage lies in its federated approach, community-driven moderation, and Canadian hosting, appealing to privacy-conscious users. The partnership ecosystem includes Fedecan and related fediverse service sites. Growth indicators include active user counts and community creation. The platform's strategic focus on open-source and federated social networking positions it well for sustained community-driven growth.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and user verification mechanisms including email verification and CAPTCHA. The platform enforces community rules to prevent abuse and spam, with active moderation teams. However, the absence of DNSSEC and published security or incident response policies represents areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The platform respects user privacy by avoiding tracking and advertising. Overall, the security posture is strong for a community platform but could benefit from formalized policies and DNSSEC implementation.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to enhance domain name security and prevent DNS spoofing.
  2. Publish a formal security policy and incident response plan to improve transparency and preparedness.
  3. Implement a cookie consent mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and improve user trust.
  4. Consider publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to improve usability for all users, including those with disabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Fedecan (non-profit)
Description
A Canadian-run community platform geared towards Canadians but open to all, run by the non-profit Fedecan and funded by user donations.
Key services
Community hosting, Fediverse social networking, User moderation and support
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Cloudflare DNS, Fediverse protocols, JavaScript, Inferno.js, Bootstrap
Frameworks
Inferno.js, Bootstrap
Platforms
Fediverse, Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Email verification required for registration
  • Captcha enabled with medium difficulty
  • Bot accounts flagged
  • Community moderation and abuse reporting

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
excellent

Advertising

Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Canadian non-profit community platform focused on fediverse social networking.
  2. Content is rich with community rules, guides, and active moderation.
  3. No adult or inappropriate content detected; site is safe for general audiences.
  4. Technical stack uses modern JavaScript frameworks and is hosted with Cloudflare DNS.
  5. Security posture is good with HTTPS and security headers but lacks DNSSEC and formal security policies.
  6. No cookie consent mechanism found, which may be a compliance gap.
  7. WHOIS data is privacy protected but consistent with the site's Canadian identity.
  8. No advertising or tracking services detected, respecting user privacy.
  9. Contact information is limited to email and user profiles; no phone or physical address found.
Technical notes

Notes

Lemmy.ca is built on a modern technology stack including Inferno.js and Bootstrap for frontend rendering, with Cloudflare providing DNS services. The platform is federated, integrating with the fediverse ecosystem, and supports multiple alternative frontends. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization. The site uses HTTPS with strong security headers but lacks DNSSEC. SEO and accessibility are basic but functional. The technical infrastructure supports a small to medium-sized community platform with opportunities for modernization in accessibility and formal security documentation.
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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