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Security report for physicsworldjobs.com

IOP Publishing Ltd · Education · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Physics World Jobs is a specialized online job board platform focused on physics and engineering careers, operated under the reputable IOP Publishing Ltd umbrella. The platform offers a comprehensive range of services including job listings, job alerts, employer job posting, and career advice, targeting a global audience of physics professionals, researchers, and students. The website leverages the strong Physics World brand to position itself as a trusted resource within the scientific community. Technically, the site employs modern JavaScript libraries, integrates Google services such as reCAPTCHA and Tag Manager, and uses Madgex job board software, indicating a mature and well-supported infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, providing a good user experience. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS, uses bot protection, and implements cookie consent mechanisms, though explicit security headers could be more visible. The absence of WHOIS data reduces transparency but does not detract significantly from the site's legitimacy given its professional presentation and association with IOP Publishing. Overall, the site is a credible, well-maintained platform serving a niche professional market.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 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

2 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. 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

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

Keep watching physicsworldjobs.com

This scan found 23 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
67
Security headers
60
Email security
55
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
72

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

Physics World Jobs operates in the education and media sectors, focusing on the niche market of physics and engineering employment. Its business model centers on connecting jobseekers with employers through a digital job board, monetizing via employer job postings and recruitment services. The platform benefits from the established Physics World and IOP Publishing brands, enhancing market trust and reach. The target audience includes academic researchers, industry professionals, and students in physics-related fields. The site demonstrates consistent branding and professional content quality, supporting its medium-sized enterprise status. Partnerships with Wiley and use of Madgex software indicate a robust technology ecosystem. The platform's growth potential lies in expanding job listings and enhancing career resources, while maintaining compliance with privacy regulations.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with mandatory HTTPS, integration of Google reCAPTCHA to mitigate spam and bot attacks, and a comprehensive cookie consent mechanism compliant with GDPR. Security headers are implied but not explicitly visible in the HTML content, suggesting room for improvement in header transparency. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the source code. The site uses reputable third-party services and scripts, reducing risk from vulnerable libraries. However, the lack of visible incident response or security policy pages indicates potential gaps in formal security governance documentation. Overall, the security maturity is good for a public-facing job board, with recommendations to enhance header implementation and publish security policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and explicitly declare security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen browser security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information to improve transparency and user trust.
  3. Regularly audit third-party scripts and dependencies to ensure no vulnerable libraries are in use.
  4. Enhance contact information availability, including verified company emails and phone numbers, to improve business credibility.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies to stay compliant with evolving regulations such as GDPR and NIS2.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
IOP Publishing Ltd
Description
Physics World Jobs is a job board platform dedicated to physics and engineering careers, part of the Physics World portfolio by IOP Publishing Ltd. It offers job listings, career advice, and employer services targeting jobseekers and recruiters in the physics and engineering sectors.
Key services
Job listings and search, Job alerts, Employer job posting and applicant management, Career advice and resources
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, jQuery, Madgex Job Board Software, Google Tag Manager, Google reCAPTCHA, CookieYes Consent Management
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Google reCAPTCHA integration for bot protection
  • Cookie consent banner with customization
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Madgex Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Madgex Analytics
Marketing tools
CookieYes Consent Management
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.
  2. Strong branding alignment with Physics World and IOP Publishing.
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent and privacy mechanisms implemented.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main pages.
  5. Use of multiple Google services and Madgex platform for job board functionality.
  6. WHOIS data unavailable, which reduces transparency but does not necessarily indicate risk.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern JavaScript frameworks and libraries including jQuery and Madgex job board software, supported by Google services like Tag Manager and reCAPTCHA. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices evident from meta tags and structured navigation. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of scripts and lazy loading of ads. The absence of a detected CMS suggests a custom or proprietary platform. Hosting details are not explicit but likely managed by a professional provider given the use of Amazon Web Services cookies for load balancing. The technical infrastructure supports a stable and user-friendly job board experience, though opportunities exist to improve performance and security header visibility.
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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