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Security report for mastodon.scot

mastodon.scot · Technology · United Kingdom

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

77/100

Risk levelLow

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

mastodon.scot is an independent Mastodon social networking server primarily targeting users in Scotland or those identifying as Scottish. It provides a federated microblogging platform allowing users to participate in the fediverse with features such as trending posts, profile directories, and live feeds. The platform leverages modern web technologies including React and Ruby on Rails, hosted with Cloudflare DNS services, ensuring a responsive and moderately performant user experience. Security is adequate with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer protections in place, though DNSSEC is not enabled and explicit security policies are absent. Privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or GDPR-specific disclosures. Business credibility is supported by domain age, active user base, and transparent administration. Overall, mastodon.scot presents a trustworthy and functional social platform with room for improvement in privacy and security transparency.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of mastodon.scot. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  2. 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 mastodon.scot

This scan found 18 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
75
Security headers
75
Email security
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
77

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 mastodon.scot, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
123
Employees
0
Customers
123
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
3%

1 subdomain 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 mastodon.scot.

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 website operates as a niche social networking service within the broader Mastodon ecosystem, focusing on Scottish users. Its business model is community-driven, relying on federated social networking without advertising or commercial transactions visible. The platform's competitive advantage lies in its regional focus and active user engagement (1.9K active users). The open-source nature and transparency about administration enhance trust. Growth indicators include active content and integration with the wider fediverse. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not evident, and the site links to official Mastodon resources and European Commission social accounts, indicating a community and informational orientation rather than commercial. The platform's operations appear sustainable with a clear target audience and consistent branding.

Security posture

The security posture of mastodon.scot is moderate. The site uses HTTPS and Cloudflare DNS, which provide baseline security. The domain is protected against unauthorized transfers, but DNSSEC is not enabled, which could improve DNS security. No explicit security headers were detected in the provided data, and there is no visible incident response or vulnerability disclosure policy. Forms present are limited to search inputs without sensitive data collection. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were identified. The absence of cookie consent and detailed privacy compliance mechanisms represents a compliance gap. Overall, the site is secure for general social networking use but would benefit from enhanced DNS security, security headers, and published security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website.
  3. Add a cookie policy and consent mechanism to comply with GDPR and improve privacy transparency.
  4. Deploy security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  5. Provide clear contact information for security incidents and data protection inquiries to enhance trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
mastodon.scot
Description
A server intended for (but not limited to) users in Scotland or who identify as Scottish.
Key services
Social networking, Federated microblogging, User profile directory, Trending posts exploration
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Ruby on Rails (implied by mastodon/mastodon repo), React (implied by JSX and React components), Cloudflare DNS, JavaScript ES Modules, SVG icons, Service Worker Push Notifications
Frameworks
Mastodon (Ruby on Rails based)
Platforms
Fediverse (Mastodon instance)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by wss:// and https:// URLs)
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon instance focused on Scottish users
  2. Content is user-generated social posts with trending topics
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie consent mechanisms visible
  4. No visible contact emails or phone numbers for business or support
  5. Uses modern web technologies and Cloudflare DNS
  6. No signs of malicious or suspicious content
  7. WHOIS data supports legitimacy and domain age is reasonable
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Mastodon platform, which uses Ruby on Rails and React for frontend components. It employs modern JavaScript modules and SVG icons for UI elements. Hosting leverages Cloudflare DNS services, contributing to performance and security. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessible navigation. Performance is moderate with multiple module preloads and scripts, indicating a complex but well-structured frontend. No CMS beyond Mastodon is detected. Technical debt appears low, but enabling DNSSEC and security headers would reduce risks. The site benefits from open-source transparency and active development, with version 4.4.1 noted. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid but can be enhanced with additional security and privacy features.
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. 77/100Low26 findingsView report
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