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Security report for purl.org

Internet Archive · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The website purl.archive.org serves as the administration portal for Persistent URLs (PURLs), a service provided by the Internet Archive, a well-known non-profit digital library organization. The site facilitates searching and creating PURL domains, with user authentication managed through the Internet Archive's main platform. The business model is non-commercial and focused on providing stable, permanent web addresses for digital resources, targeting web users and organizations requiring persistent links. The site is positioned as a niche technical service within the broader digital archiving ecosystem of the Internet Archive. Technically, the website employs a straightforward tech stack including Bootstrap for responsive design and jQuery for client-side scripting. The site is served over HTTPS and uses CSRF tokens in forms, indicating basic security hygiene. However, no advanced security headers or privacy policies are present, and no analytics or tracking scripts were detected, reflecting a privacy-conscious but minimalistic approach. The site performs moderately well with good mobile optimization but could improve accessibility and SEO features. From a security perspective, the site shows strengths in HTTPS usage and delegated user authentication to a trusted parent domain. The absence of privacy and cookie policies, security.txt, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are notable gaps. The WHOIS data is unavailable or malformed, which reduces transparency but does not necessarily indicate malicious intent given the association with the Internet Archive. Overall, the security posture is adequate but could be enhanced with additional policies and headers. The overall risk assessment is low, with the main recommendations focusing on improving privacy compliance, adding security headers, and publishing clear policies to enhance user trust and regulatory adherence. The site is safe for general audiences and does not contain any adult or questionable content.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
50/ 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

8 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 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

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

Keep watching purl.org

This scan found 26 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

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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
52
Security headers
15
Email security
75
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
50
Average
61

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

The Internet Archive operates purl.archive.org as part of its mission to provide persistent digital resources. The service is non-profit and targets institutions and individuals needing stable URLs for digital content. The business model relies on public interest and grant funding rather than commercial revenue. The site’s integration with the Internet Archive’s main user system suggests a centralized ecosystem approach. Market positioning is strong within digital archiving and library services, with a reputation for reliability and trustworthiness. The lack of commercial advertising and tracking aligns with the non-profit ethos. Growth indicators are not explicit but the service supports a critical infrastructure role in digital preservation. Partnerships appear limited to internal Internet Archive domains. Strategic observations include potential for enhanced user engagement through improved documentation and policy transparency.

Security posture

The security maturity of purl.archive.org is moderate. HTTPS is enforced, and forms use CSRF tokens, which are positive indicators. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response information is provided, which could hinder coordinated security improvements. The WHOIS data is incomplete, limiting domain registration transparency. No analytics or tracking scripts reduce privacy risks but also limit monitoring capabilities. Overall, the site is secure enough for its purpose but would benefit from enhanced security policies, headers, and transparency to meet higher compliance standards such as GDPR or NIS2.

Recommendations

  1. Implement standard security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to improve protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies to enhance GDPR compliance and user trust.
  3. Add a security.txt file and vulnerability disclosure policy to facilitate responsible reporting and incident response.
  4. Improve accessibility features to meet WCAG standards and broaden user inclusivity.
  5. Enhance SEO metadata and structured data to improve discoverability and search engine ranking.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Internet Archive
Description
The PURL service is an initiative of the Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form.
Key services
Persistent URL (PURL) management, User login and registration via Internet Archive, Domain search and creation for PURLs
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Bootstrap CSS, jQuery, JavaScript
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • CSRF token used in forms
  • Login and signup handled via Internet Archive

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
poor

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 detected.
  2. Content is focused on PURL administration, a niche technical service.
  3. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service pages found on the site.
  4. Contact email info@archive.org is provided in footer.
  5. Login and signup are delegated to archive.org, indicating centralized user management.
  6. No social media links or phone numbers found.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information present.
  8. Site uses HTTPS and includes CSRF tokens in forms.
  9. No explicit security headers detected in provided data.
  10. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a classic web stack with Bootstrap CSS and jQuery JavaScript libraries, indicating a traditional but effective front-end approach. The site is mobile responsive and includes CSRF tokens in forms, showing attention to basic security and usability. Performance is moderate with no evident heavy scripts or resources. No CMS or advanced frameworks detected, suggesting a custom or lightweight platform. Hosting provider details are not available from the data. The site lacks advanced SEO and accessibility features, which could be improved. No analytics or tracking technologies are present, aligning with privacy-focused design. Overall, the technical implementation is solid but could be modernized with newer frameworks and enhanced security configurations.
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. 55/100Medium34 findingsView report
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