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Security report for propublica.org

ProPublica · Media · United States

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

ProPublica is a leading independent non-profit newsroom specializing in investigative journalism and news in the public interest. The organization focuses on producing high-quality, impactful journalism covering topics such as racial justice, healthcare, politics, and criminal justice. Their market position is strong as a trusted source of investigative reporting with a large audience and extensive social media presence. The business model relies on donations and grants, emphasizing transparency and public service. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including asynchronous JavaScript loading, lazy loading of images, and integration with analytics and marketing tools such as Parsely and Google Tag Manager. The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility, providing an excellent user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and implements security headers to protect users. Forms use Google reCAPTCHA to prevent abuse. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly available, and no vulnerability disclosure program is evident. Overall, the website demonstrates a mature digital presence with strong content quality and security posture. The lack of WHOIS data is mitigated by the organization's well-known reputation and trust signals. Strategic recommendations include publishing formal security policies, establishing a vulnerability disclosure channel, and maintaining regular audits of third-party scripts to enhance security further.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 100 · Medium
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

4 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

    • 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

  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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching propublica.org

This scan found 22 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
65
Security headers
45
Email security
80
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
71

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 propublica.org, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
218
Employees
0
Customers
175
Third parties
43
Weak passwords
18%

7 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 propublica.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

ProPublica operates as a non-profit media entity focused on investigative journalism. It holds a prominent market position with a reputation for in-depth reporting on public interest issues. Revenue streams primarily come from donations and grants, supported by a strong donor engagement strategy visible on the website. The target audience includes general readers interested in social justice, government accountability, and policy issues. Partnerships with other media and data organizations enhance its reporting capabilities. The organization maintains a professional and consistent brand image, reinforcing its credibility and trustworthiness in the media landscape.

Security posture

The website exhibits a strong security posture with enforced HTTPS, modern security headers, and anti-bot measures via reCAPTCHA. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. However, the absence of a publicly stated security policy or incident response plan and lack of a vulnerability disclosure program represent areas for improvement. The use of multiple third-party scripts necessitates ongoing vigilance to prevent supply chain risks. Overall, the security maturity is high but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized security governance documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website.
  2. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  3. Conduct regular security audits of third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate supply chain risks.
  4. Enhance privacy compliance disclosures, including detailed data retention policies and user rights information.
  5. Maintain and promote transparency around data protection officer contact details and GDPR compliance measures.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
ProPublica, Inc.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ProPublica
Description
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
Key services
Investigative journalism, News reporting, Data journalism, Local reporting network
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Google Tag Manager, Parsely analytics, Google reCAPTCHA, LazySizes (lazy loading images), Sail Horizon, Vimeo, CDN usage
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of reCAPTCHA for forms
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Lazy loading images to reduce attack surface

Analytics and tracking

Services
Parsely, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
htlbid.com
Tracking pixels
Parsely, Sail Horizon
Marketing tools
Parsely
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.
  2. Strong presence of professional journalism content and authorship.
  3. Multiple social media and partner links consistent with a media organization.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  5. No signs of phishing, malware, or suspicious domains.
  6. WHOIS data unavailable due to query failure but no negative indicators found.
  7. Privacy and cookie policies are present and comprehensive.
  8. No explicit security policy or incident response information publicly found.
  9. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern JavaScript libraries and asynchronous loading techniques to optimize performance and user experience. It leverages lazy loading for images to reduce initial load times and integrates with multiple analytics and marketing platforms. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with semantic HTML and ARIA attributes where appropriate. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Hosting details are not explicit but likely use a CDN for asset delivery. The technical infrastructure supports a fast, reliable, and secure browsing experience suitable for a high-traffic media organization.
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. 71/100Medium30 findingsView report
  2. 71/100Medium30 findingsView report
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