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Security report for patch.com

Patch · Media · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

80/100

Risk levelLow

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

Patch.com is a well-established hyperlocal news platform providing breaking news, events, and community discussions for approximately 30,000 U.S. communities. The website targets local residents seeking timely and relevant information about their towns and neighborhoods. Its business model is primarily advertising-supported, leveraging partnerships with major ad networks and tracking services to monetize content. The site demonstrates a consistent brand presence with professional content authored by verified staff members. Technically, Patch.com employs modern web technologies including React with Next.js, AWS hosting, and various ad and analytics integrations. The site is mobile-optimized and offers a good user experience with clear navigation and relevant content. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and standard security headers, though DNSSEC is not enabled. Privacy compliance is partial, with a cookie consent mechanism present but no explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages detected in the analyzed content. Overall, Patch.com is a credible and professional media site with room for improvement in privacy transparency and DNS security.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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. 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 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 Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

  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 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

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Keep watching patch.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
72
Security headers
60
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
80

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 patch.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
7,224
Employees
11
Customers
7,162
Third parties
51
Weak passwords
14%

Latest record dated 2026-05-21 · 167 subdomains 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 patch.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –contribute.patch.com2026-05-21
  • –contribute.patch.com2025-08-15
  • –patch.com2025-07-20
  • –patch.com2025-07-20
  • –patch.com2025-07-20

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Patch holds a strong market position as a leading local news network in the United States, serving a broad audience across many communities. Its competitive advantage lies in hyperlocal content and community engagement features, supported by a large team of local journalists. Revenue streams are primarily from advertising, including programmatic ads and direct local business advertising. The platform integrates with multiple ad networks and tracking services to optimize monetization. Patch's partnership ecosystem includes advertising technology providers like Amazon Ads, Google DoubleClick, and Aditude. Growth indicators include extensive community coverage and continuous content updates. Strategic observations suggest that enhancing privacy policy transparency and expanding direct contact options could improve user trust and compliance.

Security posture

Patch.com exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and clientTransferProhibited domain status to prevent unauthorized transfers. The use of multiple security headers is implied though not explicitly confirmed in the provided data. The absence of DNSSEC is a minor gap in DNS security. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The site uses secure forms for user subscriptions but lacks published security policies or incident response contacts. Compliance with GDPR is partial, indicated by cookie consent but missing privacy policy details. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by publishing formal security and incident response documentation and enabling DNSSEC.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service pages prominently linked on the website.
  2. Enable DNSSEC to strengthen domain name system security.
  3. Add explicit Content-Security-Policy headers to mitigate cross-site scripting risks.
  4. Provide clear security incident response contact information (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email).
  5. Improve accessibility features to meet higher standards and enhance user inclusivity.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Patch
Description
Patch is a network of local news sites providing breaking news, stories, and events for approximately 30,000 U.S. communities.
Key services
Local news reporting, Community event listings, Local discussions, Advertising opportunities for local businesses
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (Next.js), Amazon Ads System, Google Analytics, OneTrust Cookie Consent, Prebid.js (header bidding), AWS DNS (Amazon Route 53), Cloudfront CDN
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
AWS, Cloudfront CDN
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Client transfer prohibited domain status
  • Use of cookie consent mechanism

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Scorecard Research, Raven
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Amazon Ads, Google DoubleClick, AdLightning, Aditude
Tracking pixels
Scorecard Research, Chartbeat, Raven
Marketing tools
OneTrust Cookie Consent
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a large-scale local news platform with extensive community coverage.
  2. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages detected in the provided content.
  3. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented via OneTrust.
  4. Multiple advertising and tracking scripts are used, indicating monetization via ads.
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found in the visible content.
  6. Security headers and HTTPS are properly implemented but DNSSEC is not enabled.
  7. Content is professional, relevant, and targeted at general audiences.
  8. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected; content fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React-based framework (Next.js) hosted on AWS with Cloudfront CDN, ensuring scalability and performance. It integrates multiple advertising and analytics technologies including Amazon Ads, Google Analytics, Chartbeat, and header bidding via Prebid.js. The site is mobile-optimized and uses web fonts and SVG icons for visual consistency. Performance is moderate with deferred and async script loading. Technical debt appears low, but improvements in SEO metadata completeness and accessibility could be made. The absence of a known CMS suggests a custom or proprietary content management system. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a large-scale media operation effectively.
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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