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Security report for parse.ly

Parse.ly · Technology · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Email security and SSL/TLS.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

Parse.ly is a well-established content analytics platform focused on empowering newsrooms and content marketers with actionable insights to optimize content strategy and prove ROI. The company operates within the technology and media sectors and is integrated with WordPress VIP, reflecting a strong market position and technical maturity. The website demonstrates excellent content quality, professional design, and clear navigation, targeting a professional audience in content marketing and analytics. Technically, the site leverages a modern WordPress VIP infrastructure with robust SEO, accessibility, and performance optimizations. Security posture is strong with HTTPS, security headers, and a comprehensive cookie consent mechanism, although explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly available. Overall, the site is trustworthy, compliant with GDPR, and uses extensive analytics and marketing tools to support its business objectives.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of parse.ly. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
95/ 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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

  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 Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1
    • 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 parse.ly

This scan found 20 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
42
Security headers
75
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
95
Average
78

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

Parse.ly holds a competitive advantage through its integration with WordPress VIP and a comprehensive suite of content analytics services including dashboards, APIs, and data pipelines. Its SaaS business model targets content creators and marketers, providing real-time data and conversion tracking to drive smarter decisions. The company benefits from its parent company Automattic's ecosystem and partnerships, enhancing credibility and reach. The website content and structure reflect a mature digital marketing strategy with extensive use of third-party analytics and advertising networks. Growth indicators include customer testimonials and a clear focus on proving content ROI, positioning Parse.ly as a leader in content analytics.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, multiple security headers, and a detailed cookie consent mechanism that aligns with GDPR requirements. Use of Cloudflare Bot Management cookies and HubSpot analytics indicates attention to security and user experience. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response information, and vulnerability disclosure reduces transparency. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The security score is high but could be improved by publishing explicit security documentation and incident contacts.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and compliance.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information, including security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  3. Implement and publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file.
  4. Enhance visibility of contact information for customer and security inquiries.
  5. Regularly review and audit third-party scripts and cookies to minimize security risks.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Parse.ly
Description
Parse.ly makes working with data easy for newsrooms and marketers, giving them the insights they need to focus their content strategy and prove ROI.
Key services
Content Analytics Dashboard, Content Conversion Engine, Content API for Developers, Data Pipeline for Analysts, Content Management System integration
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, PHP, JavaScript, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, CookieYes Consent, Cloudflare Bot Management
Frameworks
WordPress VIP, Rank Math SEO
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with granular controls
  • Use of Cloudflare Bot Management cookie
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, HubSpot Analytics, Parse.ly Analytics, Segment
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
DoubleClick, Casale Media, BidSwitch
Tracking pixels
HubSpot, LinkedIn, Drift
Marketing tools
HubSpot, Drift, CookieYes
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website uses modern WordPress VIP infrastructure with strong SEO and accessibility.
  2. Comprehensive cookie consent mechanism with detailed cookie categories and descriptions.
  3. Integration with multiple marketing and analytics platforms indicating mature digital marketing.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the main page; contact likely via forms or dashboard.
  5. No explicit security or incident response policies published on the main site.
  6. No terms of service page detected in the main HTML content.
  7. Strong branding and consistent design across the site.
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress VIP, leveraging PHP and JavaScript with modern SEO and accessibility standards. It uses multiple third-party services including HubSpot, Google Tag Manager, and CookieYes for marketing, analytics, and consent management. Performance is optimized with CDN usage and responsive design. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, supporting a fast and accessible user experience. Opportunities exist to further modernize by consolidating third-party scripts and enhancing security documentation to reduce technical debt and improve trust.
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. 78/100Low28 findingsView report
  2. 78/100Low28 findingsView report
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