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Security report for perl.org

Perl.org · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Perl.org is the official website for the Perl programming language, a mature and widely used open source programming language with over 37 years of development history. The site serves as a comprehensive resource hub offering downloads, documentation, community engagement, and access to the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN). It targets programmers and developers interested in Perl and related technologies. The website is professionally designed with consistent branding and clear navigation, reflecting a medium-sized technology community entity with a strong market position in the programming language ecosystem. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies including Bootstrap for responsive design, Google Fonts, and Google Analytics for user tracking. The hosting appears to be provided by NetActuate, a known networking and colocation provider. The site performs well with fast loading times and good mobile optimization, although accessibility features are basic. SEO practices are adequately implemented with proper meta tags and canonical links. From a security perspective, the website enforces HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, it lacks several security headers and does not provide visible privacy or cookie policies, which impacts privacy compliance. No forms or user data collection mechanisms are present on the homepage, reducing attack surface. WHOIS data is unavailable due to a malformed query response, but the domain appears legitimate and well-established. No WAF or blocking mechanisms were detected, and no suspicious or malicious content was found. Overall, Perl.org demonstrates a solid security posture with room for improvement in privacy compliance and security header implementation. The site is trustworthy and serves its community effectively. Strategic recommendations include publishing privacy and cookie policies, adding security headers, and providing clear contact information for security incidents to enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of perl.org. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

6 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 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching perl.org

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
75
Security headers
55
Email security
73
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
70

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 perl.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
242
Employees
0
Customers
180
Third parties
62
Weak passwords
25%

10 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 perl.org.

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

Perl.org operates as a central hub for the Perl programming language community, providing essential resources such as downloads, documentation, and access to CPAN modules. Its business model is community-driven and open source focused, relying on contributions and sponsorships rather than direct revenue. The site maintains strong market positioning as a legacy yet actively developed programming language with a large global user base. Partnerships with the Perl Foundation and related sister projects like Raku strengthen its ecosystem. The presence of a hosting sponsor indicates strategic alliances supporting infrastructure. The target audience includes developers, programmers, and technology enthusiasts. Growth indicators include active updates and recent CPAN uploads. The site’s professional presentation and active community engagement reflect a mature and stable operation within the technology sector.

Security posture

The security posture of Perl.org is generally good, with HTTPS enforced site-wide and no visible exposure of sensitive information. The absence of forms on the homepage reduces risk from input-based attacks. However, the lack of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is a gap that could be exploited. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies and no visible consent mechanisms, which could pose regulatory risks under GDPR or similar frameworks. Incident response contact information is not provided, limiting transparency in security management. No vulnerabilities or malware indicators were detected. The WHOIS data is privacy protected, which is reasonable for this type of community site. Overall, the site is secure but would benefit from enhanced privacy and security policy disclosures and technical header improvements.

Recommendations

  1. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with GDPR compliance details.
  2. Implement security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options.
  3. Provide clear contact information for security incidents and vulnerability disclosures.
  4. Add a security.txt file or vulnerability disclosure page to improve transparency.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and analytics to ensure privacy compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Perl.org
Description
Perl is a highly capable, feature-rich programming language with over 37 years of development. The site provides links and resources for new and experienced Perl programmers.
Key services
Programming language downloads, Learning resources, Documentation, Community engagement, CPAN module archive
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, Bootstrap CSS, Google Fonts (Lato), Google Analytics, JavaScript
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No visible exposed sensitive data
  • No forms detected on homepage to collect data

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges
  2. No privacy or cookie policy pages found on homepage or footer
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly provided
  4. No forms present on homepage to collect user data
  5. Use of modern web technologies and responsive design
  6. Active links to community, documentation, and downloads
  7. Google Analytics used for tracking without visible cookie consent
  8. WHOIS data unavailable due to malformed query response
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern and lightweight technical stack centered on HTML5 and Bootstrap CSS for responsive design. Google Fonts and Google Analytics are integrated for typography and user analytics respectively. The site is hosted by NetActuate, a reputable hosting provider, as inferred from sponsorship links. Performance is fast with good mobile optimization, though accessibility features are basic and could be improved. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and canonical URLs. No CMS or complex backend frameworks are detected, indicating a static or lightly dynamic site architecture. The absence of forms reduces complexity and security risk. Overall, the technical implementation is solid with opportunities to enhance accessibility and privacy compliance.
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. 68/100Medium31 findingsView report
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