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Security report for ppcmasterminds.com

PPC Masterminds · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

PPC Masterminds is a well-established Los Angeles-based digital marketing agency specializing in PPC management, SEO, web design, conversion rate optimization, and email marketing. With over 11 years of experience and a strong client base, the company positions itself as a trusted partner for businesses seeking to maximize their digital advertising ROI. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image, supported by numerous client testimonials and clear service offerings. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using the Thrive Theme framework, enhanced with LiteSpeed Cache and served via Cloudflare CDN. The site is moderately optimized for performance and mobile responsiveness, though some accessibility features could be improved. SEO practices are good, with proper meta tags and structured data implemented. From a security perspective, the absence of a valid SSL certificate is a critical vulnerability, exposing users to potential risks and undermining trust. The site lacks comprehensive security headers and does not implement modern TLS protocols or HSTS. Privacy compliance is partial; while a privacy policy and terms of service are present and comprehensive, there is no cookie policy or consent mechanism, which may impact GDPR compliance. Overall, the site is credible and professional but requires urgent security improvements to protect user data and enhance trust. Strategic recommendations include securing HTTPS, implementing security headers, and adding cookie consent mechanisms to align with privacy regulations.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
43/ 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

5 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 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';…

  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

    • 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

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

Keep watching ppcmasterminds.com

This scan found 21 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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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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
85
Security headers
15
Email security
75
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
43
Average
67

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

PPC Masterminds operates as a service-based digital marketing agency targeting businesses in the technology sector, primarily in the United States. Their competitive advantage lies in their long-standing market presence, 5-star client ratings, and a comprehensive suite of digital marketing services. The agency manages significant advertising budgets ($250M+ annually) and maintains strong client retention (5+ years). Their partnership ecosystem includes integrations with tools like Pipedrive and Reviewability, enhancing lead generation and reputation management. The business model focuses on delivering measurable ROI through data-driven strategies, appealing to clients seeking transparency and performance. Growth indicators include a robust testimonial base and active social media engagement.

Security posture

The current security posture of PPC Masterminds' website is basic and requires significant enhancements. The lack of a valid SSL certificate is a critical issue, preventing secure HTTPS connections and exposing users to data interception risks. The absence of HSTS, OCSP stapling, and modern TLS protocols further weakens the site's security. Minimal security headers are present, and no explicit incident response or security policies are found on the site. While the use of Cloudflare provides some protection, the overall security maturity is low. There is no evidence of vulnerability disclosure or data protection officer contact information, indicating potential compliance gaps with GDPR and other regulations. Immediate remediation is necessary to safeguard user data and maintain business credibility.

Recommendations

  1. Obtain and install a valid SSL certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire site.
  2. Implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload directives.
  3. Enable OCSP stapling and support modern TLS protocols (TLS 1.2 and 1.3).
  4. Add comprehensive security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection.
  5. Develop and publish a cookie policy with explicit consent mechanisms to comply with GDPR.
  6. Establish and disclose an incident response policy with dedicated security contact channels.
  7. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  8. Enhance accessibility features to improve user experience for all visitors.
  9. Maintain consistent and transparent privacy and data protection practices.
  10. Leverage security best practices to build stronger trust and reduce risk exposure.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.8.1 with the Thrive Theme framework, utilizing jQuery and various Thrive plugins for enhanced functionality. LiteSpeed Cache is employed for performance optimization, and Cloudflare acts as the CDN and security provider. The site uses modern front-end technologies including responsive design and CSS optimizations. However, the SSL configuration is invalid, and no TLS protocols are enabled, which is a significant technical risk. Performance metrics are not available, but the presence of caching and CDN suggests moderate performance. The site includes structured data (JSON-LD) for SEO and social media integration. Technical debt appears minimal, but security misconfigurations pose operational risks.
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. 67/100Medium28 findingsView report
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