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Security report for rtbf.be

RTBF · Media · Belgium

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and Security headers.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

RTBF is a leading Belgian public broadcasting organization providing comprehensive news coverage, including national and international news, sports, culture, and entertainment. The website serves as a primary digital platform for RTBF's news and media content, targeting a broad general audience interested in Belgian and global current events. The business model centers on public media broadcasting with multiple channels and digital content offerings. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies such as Next.js and React, ensuring fast performance, mobile optimization, and good SEO practices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and standard security headers, though explicit privacy and cookie policies are not clearly linked in the provided content. The WHOIS data is restricted due to DNS Belgium policies, which is typical but limits domain ownership transparency. Overall, RTBF's website is professional, trustworthy, and content-rich, reflecting its status as a major public media entity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
25/ 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

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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

  2. 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 rtbf.be

This scan found 23 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
85
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
25
Average
63

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 rtbf.be, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
38,217
Employees
22
Customers
37,910
Third parties
285
Weak passwords
11%

Latest record dated 2026-06-04 · 47 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 rtbf.be.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –auvio.rtbf.be2026-06-04
  • –auvio.rtbf.be2026-05-20
  • –rtbf.be2026-05-03
  • –rtbf.be2025-11-30
  • –rtbf.be2025-11-05

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

RTBF holds a dominant position in the Belgian media landscape as a public broadcaster. Its competitive advantage lies in its official status, broad content portfolio, and multi-platform presence including TV, radio, and digital. Revenue streams likely include public funding and advertising. The target customer segment is the general Belgian public and French-speaking audiences interested in news and culture. The partnership ecosystem includes related digital platforms like Auvio. Growth indicators include continuous content updates and integration of modern analytics and consent management tools. Strategic observations suggest RTBF maintains strong brand consistency and trust but could improve transparency around privacy and security policies.

Security posture

RTBF demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and use of security headers. The site uses consent management tools indicating awareness of privacy regulations. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. However, the absence of explicit privacy and cookie policy links and lack of a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file indicate areas for improvement. Incident response contact information is not evident, which could hinder timely reporting of security issues. Compliance with GDPR is implied but not explicitly documented on the analyzed page. Overall, RTBF's security practices are solid but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized security communication channels.

Recommendations

  1. Publish clear and accessible privacy and cookie policies linked from the homepage.
  2. Provide explicit contact information for security incidents and data protection inquiries.
  3. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure policy and security.txt file.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and analytics tools for security and privacy compliance.
  5. Enhance user trust by displaying certifications or compliance badges where applicable.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
RTBF
Description
Toute l'actualité belge et internationale sur RTBF.be : retrouvez toutes les news info, sport, culture, musique et bien plus encore et accédez aux chaînes TV, radio et marques de la RTBF.
Key services
News articles, Live TV, Radio streaming, Podcasts, Video content
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (Next.js), JavaScript, CSS, Google Analytics, Gemius (analytics), Didomi (consent management), LazySizes (lazy loading images)
Frameworks
Next.js
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of consent management (Didomi)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Gemius
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Gemius
Tracking pixels
Gemius
Marketing tools
Gemius
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a major Belgian public broadcaster news portal.
  2. Content is rich, well-structured, and professionally presented.
  3. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in the HTML snippet.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie policy links detected in the provided HTML snippet.
  5. Uses modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  6. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  7. WHOIS data is restricted, typical for .be domains, limiting domain ownership transparency.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React-based framework (Next.js), leveraging server-side rendering for performance and SEO benefits. It uses lazy loading for images and integrates multiple analytics and consent management scripts. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations. Performance is fast with preloading of critical assets. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary solution. Hosting provider details are not evident from the HTML. The technical infrastructure supports a high-quality user experience but should maintain vigilance on third-party dependencies and privacy compliance.
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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