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Security report for nola.com

NOLA.com · Media · United States

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

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

NOLA.com is a prominent local news website serving New Orleans and the broader Louisiana region, offering comprehensive coverage of local news, sports, entertainment, and weather. It operates under the media sector with a business model primarily based on advertising revenue supplemented by subscription and newsletter services. The site is well-positioned as a leading regional news source with a large audience and strong brand recognition. Technically, the website employs a modern technology stack including Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Amazon Ads, and various advertising and tracking SDKs. It uses the BLOX CMS platform, which is common for news media sites, and incorporates responsive design for mobile optimization. Performance is moderate with good SEO and basic accessibility features. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with good SSL configuration and employs reCAPTCHA Enterprise and Auth0 for authentication, indicating a reasonable security posture. However, some security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not explicitly detected, suggesting room for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the analyzed content. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and compliant with privacy regulations including GDPR, supported by clear privacy and cookie policies. The lack of WHOIS data limits domain registration trust analysis, but the site’s established presence and multiple trust signals mitigate concerns. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, improving accessibility, and maintaining vigilance on third-party scripts.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
70/ 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

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Keep watching nola.com

This scan found 15 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
65
Security headers
85
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
70
Average
81

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

NOLA.com operates as a key regional media outlet with a strong foothold in the New Orleans and Louisiana markets. Its competitive advantage lies in localized content, extensive sports and entertainment coverage, and integration with sister publications like The Advocate. Revenue streams include advertising, subscriptions, and newsletters. The target customer segment is local residents and visitors seeking timely news and community information. The partnership ecosystem includes major advertising networks and analytics providers, enhancing monetization and audience insights. The company benefits from a consistent brand and a large user base, positioning it well for growth and digital transformation.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement, use of enterprise-grade reCAPTCHA, and third-party authentication via Auth0. Security best practices are partially implemented, though some HTTP security headers are missing or not detected, which could expose the site to clickjacking or MIME sniffing risks. No direct vulnerabilities or sensitive data leaks were observed. Privacy compliance is strong with visible policies and consent mechanisms. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure information are not publicly available, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from additional header hardening and public security documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options HTTP headers to strengthen security.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response plan accessible to users and security researchers.
  3. Conduct regular audits of third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate supply chain risks.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to meet WCAG standards for broader user inclusivity.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies to reflect evolving regulations and user expectations.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
NOLA Media Group LLC
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
NOLA.com
Description
NOLA.com provides local news, sports, entertainment, weather updates, and community information focused on New Orleans and Louisiana.
Key services
Local news articles, Sports coverage, Weather updates, Video content, Newsletter subscriptions
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Google Publisher Tags (GPT), Amazon Ads (apstag), Marfeel SDK, BlueConic, Pushly SDK, Outbrain, Comscore, Videoplayerhub, Segment Analytics, Auth0 (for authentication), jQuery, Bootstrap
Frameworks
BLOX CMS (TownNews), Bootstrap
Platforms
Web desktop, Mobile responsive
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of reCAPTCHA Enterprise
  • Use of authentication via Auth0

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Comscore, Chartbeat, Quantcast, Segment Analytics, Marfeel SDK
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ad Manager (DoubleClick for Publishers), Amazon Ads (apstag), PubMatic, Outbrain, Videoplayerhub, Connatix
Tracking pixels
Comscore, ScorecardResearch, BlueConic, Segment Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Marfeel SDK, Pushly
Marketing tools
BlueConic, Marfeel, Pushly
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a major local news source for New Orleans and Louisiana.
  2. Content is rich with news, sports, entertainment, and weather.
  3. Strong use of advertising and tracking technologies.
  4. Good mobile responsiveness and SEO practices.
  5. No signs of malware or phishing.
  6. WHOIS data unavailable, limiting domain registration trust analysis.
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response info found publicly.
  8. Multiple social media and partner site integrations.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the BLOX CMS platform, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries such as jQuery and Bootstrap for UI components. It integrates multiple advertising and analytics technologies including Google Tag Manager, Amazon Ads, Outbrain, and Comscore, indicating a complex but well-managed digital infrastructure. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness and SEO optimization. The site uses multiple CDNs and tracking pixels, which may introduce some latency but improve content delivery and audience measurement. Technical risks include dependency on numerous third-party scripts and incomplete security header implementation, which should be addressed to reduce attack surface and improve resilience.
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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