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Security report for selfpublishing.com

selfpublishing.com · Education · N/a

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

Security score

76/100

Risk levelLow

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

selfpublishing.com is a well-established online platform founded in 1998, specializing in self-publishing services including book editing and manuscript ghostwriting. It positions itself as a leading resource for authors seeking to self-publish, boasting a community of over 50,000 bestselling authors. The website is built on WordPress and leverages performance optimization tools such as WP Rocket and Cloudflare DNS services. Marketing and analytics are heavily integrated via HubSpot and Google Tag Manager, indicating a mature digital marketing strategy. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS enabled and domain transfer protections in place, but lacks advanced DNS security features like DNSSEC and security headers. Privacy and cookie policies are not explicitly found, which is a compliance gap. Overall, the site is professional and trustworthy but could improve in privacy compliance and security best practices.

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 selfpublishing.com

This scan found 17 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
75
Security headers
60
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
76

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 selfpublishing.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
7
Employees
0
Customers
7
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
0%

1 subdomain 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 selfpublishing.com.

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

The business operates in the education sector, targeting authors and self-publishers with a service-based model. Its market position is strong as a niche leader in self-publishing resources. The company likely generates revenue through program enrollments, editing services, and ghostwriting offerings. The integration of multiple marketing and tracking tools suggests a focus on customer acquisition and retention. The domain age and registration details support a credible and stable business presence. No parent or subsidiary companies are identified. The website content and branding are consistent and professionally presented, supporting business credibility.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and domain transfer lock enabled. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options indicates room for improvement. No explicit security or incident response policies are published on the site, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files are present. The use of multiple third-party scripts increases the attack surface and necessitates regular security audits. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies, which could expose the business to regulatory risks. Overall, the security posture is functional but not comprehensive.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS) to protect against common web attacks.
  3. Publish clear privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms to comply with GDPR and other regulations.
  4. Establish and publish an incident response policy and contact channels for security issues.
  5. Regularly audit and monitor third-party scripts and plugins for vulnerabilities and performance impact.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
selfpublishing.com
Description
We offer self-publishing programs, book editing, and manuscript ghostwriting services. Join our community of 50k+ bestselling authors today!
Key services
self-publishing programs, book editing, manuscript ghostwriting
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, WP Rocket, Cloudflare DNS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • clientTransferProhibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Services
HubSpot Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Tracking pixels
HubSpot, Microsoft Clarity, Trustpilot, Vitalsignstracker
Marketing tools
HubSpot marketing tools, SplitHero
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
good
User experience
good
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
good
Trustworthiness
moderate

Key observations

  1. Website uses WordPress CMS with WP Rocket for performance optimization.
  2. Multiple HubSpot marketing and analytics scripts indicate active marketing efforts.
  3. No explicit privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found in provided content.
  4. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in the HTML content.
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy detected.
  6. DNSSEC not enabled, which is a recommended security improvement.
  7. No security headers detected in provided data; potential area for improvement.
  8. Website content is professional and targeted at authors and self-publishers.
  9. No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected; site content fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a WordPress CMS platform with common optimization plugins like WP Rocket and is hosted behind Cloudflare DNS services. The tech stack includes jQuery and various HubSpot marketing and analytics scripts. Performance is moderate with some preconnect hints to external domains for faster resource loading. Mobile optimization is good, but accessibility features appear basic. SEO is enhanced by the use of Rank Math PRO plugin and proper meta tags including Open Graph and Twitter cards. The site lacks advanced security headers and DNSSEC, which are technical risks. Overall, the infrastructure is modern but could benefit from security hardening and enhanced 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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