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Security report for pushsquare.com

Hookshot Media Ltd · Media · United Kingdom

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

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Push Square is a well-established online media platform specializing in PlayStation news, reviews, and features, targeting PlayStation gamers and enthusiasts globally. Owned by Hookshot Media Ltd, the site maintains a strong market position as a leading PlayStation-focused news source, offering a wide range of content including news articles, game reviews, guides, and community forums. The business model primarily relies on advertising revenue, supported by multiple ad networks and tracking technologies with GDPR-compliant consent mechanisms. Technically, the website employs a modern tech stack including PHP, JavaScript, and Prebid.js for programmatic advertising, and uses dgpCMS as its content management system. The site is optimized for both desktop and mobile platforms, with good SEO and accessibility practices in place. Security posture is robust with HTTPS enforced, multiple security headers, and privacy policies clearly published, although the absence of WHOIS data reduces transparency. Overall, the website presents a professional, trustworthy, and content-rich experience for its audience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

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 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 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 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 pushsquare.com

This scan found 19 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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Full report

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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
75
Security headers
30
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
75

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

Push Square operates in the competitive gaming media sector, focusing exclusively on PlayStation platforms, which allows it to cater to a niche but dedicated audience. Its competitive advantage lies in its comprehensive coverage of PS5, PSVR2, and retro PlayStation content, combined with active community engagement through forums and social media. The company benefits from a strategic parent company, Hookshot Media Ltd, which provides operational support. Revenue streams are primarily advertising-based, leveraging multiple ad networks and programmatic bidding. The presence of sister sites like Time Extension indicates a broader media network. Growth indicators include frequent content updates, active social media presence, and partnerships with industry players. The business ecosystem is supported by clear policies on ethics, corrections, and diversity, enhancing credibility and user trust.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and GDPR-compliant consent management. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of a publicly accessible security incident response contact or security.txt file is a gap that could be addressed to improve transparency and readiness. The use of multiple third-party ad and tracking scripts necessitates ongoing vigilance to prevent supply chain risks. Overall, the site balances user privacy and advertising needs effectively, but could enhance its security culture by publishing dedicated security policies and incident response procedures.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting.
  2. Enhance visibility of incident response contacts for security issues.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate supply chain risks.
  4. Consider publishing a dedicated security policy outlining frameworks and controls.
  5. Maintain WHOIS data transparency or provide justification for privacy protection.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Hookshot Media Ltd
VAT number
GB166718969
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Hookshot Media Ltd
Description
The world's most popular PlayStation News & Reviews website, covering everything PS5 and PSVR2 along with retro/classic gaming from PlayStation's history.
Key services
News articles, Game reviews, Features and interviews, Guides, Forums
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, Prebid.js, Google Tag Manager, Open Graph, JSON-LD, Fonts: Montserrat, Roboto
Frameworks
dgpCMS
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management for GDPR
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Plausible, Comscore
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Rubicon, Sovrn, Pubmatic, OpenX, Index Exchange, Medianet, Sharethrough, AMX, OneTag, Criteo, Yieldmo, KueezRTB, AppNexus, Rise, Teads
Tracking pixels
Comscore, Plausible
Marketing tools
Prebid.js
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional gaming news and review portal focused on PlayStation platforms.
  2. Content is rich, updated frequently, and well-structured with clear navigation.
  3. Strong presence of privacy and cookie policies with consent management.
  4. Use of multiple ad networks and tracking services with consent compliance.
  5. No signs of adult or inappropriate content.
  6. WHOIS data is unavailable, which reduces transparency but does not necessarily indicate risk.
  7. No WAF or blocking detected; site fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a custom CMS (dgpCMS) using PHP and JavaScript, with extensive use of modern web fonts and asynchronous script loading to optimize performance. Advertising is managed via Prebid.js and multiple demand partners, indicating a sophisticated monetization strategy. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. SEO is supported by comprehensive meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. Performance is moderate, with some reliance on third-party scripts that may impact load times. Technical risks include dependency on multiple external ad and tracking services, which require continuous monitoring. Opportunities exist to improve technical documentation and security transparency.
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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