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Security report for picturedesk.com

APA - Austria Presse Agentur · Media · Austria

High risk. 7 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

40/100

Risk levelHigh

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

APA-PictureDesk operates as Austria's leading image agency, providing access to over 40 million images including press photos, studio portraits, infographics, and creative stock images. The platform serves media professionals, journalists, and creative agencies primarily in Austria, leveraging a large image database sourced from photographers and partner agencies. The website is professionally branded and content-rich, targeting a German-speaking audience with a focus on news and creative imagery. Technically, the site runs on Apache with JSP technology and uses jQuery and Usercentrics CMP for cookie consent management. Google Tag Manager is employed for analytics and tracking. However, the site lacks a valid SSL certificate and is served over HTTP, which is a significant security concern. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are present and GDPR compliant, but no explicit terms of service or security policies are found. The domain registration aligns well with the business identity, though DNS records appear incomplete or missing in the scan data. Overall, the site is functional and professional but requires urgent security improvements.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of picturedesk.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
18/ 100 · Critical
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

7 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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  3. 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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';…

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Keep watching picturedesk.com

This scan found 17 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
0
Security headers
20
Email security
50
DNS health
50
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
18
Average
40

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

APA-PictureDesk holds a strong market position as Austria's premier image licensing platform, leveraging its parent company APA - Austria Presse Agentur's reputation. The business model centers on licensing a vast archive of images to media and creative professionals. The platform's integration with international partners and extensive image collections indicates a mature ecosystem. The use of Usercentrics CMP and Google Tag Manager reflects awareness of privacy and marketing needs. However, the absence of HTTPS and incomplete DNS data may impact trust and accessibility. The company provides clear contact channels and maintains consistent branding, supporting credibility. No evidence of subsidiaries or complex corporate structure was found. The platform's focus on thematic specials and curated collections suggests a strategy to engage users with relevant content.

Security posture

The website's security posture is weak due to the absence of a valid SSL certificate and lack of HTTPS enforcement, exposing users to potential data interception risks. No HSTS policy or DNSSEC is implemented, further weakening domain security. Security headers are minimal and do not include modern protections such as Content Security Policy or X-Frame-Options. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is present, indicating limited transparency in security incident handling. The use of Usercentrics CMP for cookie consent is a positive privacy practice. Overall, the site requires significant improvements in encryption, header configuration, and security policy transparency to meet modern standards and regulatory requirements.

Recommendations

  1. Obtain and deploy a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire site.
  2. Implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload directives.
  3. Configure DNSSEC and CAA records to enhance domain security and prevent certificate misuse.
  4. Add a security.txt file to the root domain to facilitate vulnerability reporting and improve transparency.
  5. Enhance HTTP security headers including Content Security Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  6. Review and improve mobile responsiveness and accessibility features for better user experience.
  7. Ensure all external scripts and tracking tools comply with privacy regulations and minimize user tracking.
  8. Audit DNS configuration to ensure all necessary records (A, AAAA, NS, MX, TXT) are properly set.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a Java Server Pages (JSP) framework running on an Apache server, using jQuery 3.6.0 for client-side scripting. It integrates Usercentrics CMP for cookie consent management and Google Tag Manager for analytics. The CMS appears custom-built (bildCmsModule). The site lacks HTTPS, which is a critical technical deficiency. Performance metrics are missing or zero, indicating possible measurement issues or slow loading. The viewport is fixed at 1300px width, limiting mobile optimization. The site structure is clear with well-organized navigation and search forms. External dependencies include Usercentrics and Google domains. DNS records appear incomplete or missing, which is unusual and may affect domain resolution and email delivery. Overall, the technical stack is functional but outdated in security and mobile optimization aspects.
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. 70/100Medium29 findingsView report
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