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Security report for space.com

Space · Media · N/a

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

82/100

Risk levelLow

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

Space.com is a well-established online media platform specializing in space exploration, astronomy, and related scientific news. It serves a broad audience of space enthusiasts and the general public interested in space science. The website offers news articles, videos, product reviews, and educational content, positioning itself as a leading source in its niche. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies including JavaScript frameworks, Google Tag Manager, and a CDN infrastructure provided by Future plc, ensuring fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS and likely uses standard security headers, but lacks publicly available detailed security policies or incident response contacts. The absence of WHOIS data is a notable anomaly but does not detract significantly from the site's legitimacy given its strong brand presence and professional operation. Overall, Space.com demonstrates a mature digital presence with good security posture and privacy compliance, though improvements in transparency around security and contact information are recommended.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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

2 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.

    • 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

  2. 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 Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching space.com

This scan found 16 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

€39.90one-time

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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
72
Security headers
65
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
Average
82

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

Space.com operates in the media sector with a focus on space and astronomy content. Its business model revolves around content publishing supported by advertising and affiliate marketing, targeting space enthusiasts and the general public. The site benefits from being part of Future plc, a major media company, which provides infrastructure and brand strength. The platform's competitive advantage lies in its specialized content and comprehensive coverage of space-related topics. While direct revenue streams are not detailed, advertising and affiliate links are evident. The partnership ecosystem includes CDN and ad network providers. The company maintains a consistent brand and high-quality content, supporting its market position as a trusted source for space news.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security posture with enforced HTTPS and inferred use of security headers. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. However, the site lacks explicit public documentation of security policies, incident response procedures, or vulnerability disclosure programs, which are important for transparency and trust. The absence of direct security contact channels limits incident reporting capabilities. Privacy compliance is well addressed with comprehensive privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by publishing detailed security governance and response information.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page detailing security practices and frameworks.
  2. Provide clear contact information for security incidents and abuse reporting.
  3. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure or bug bounty program.
  4. Enhance transparency regarding data protection officer and GDPR compliance.
  5. Regularly review and audit third-party scripts and ad networks for security risks.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Space
Description
Get the latest space exploration, innovation and astronomy news. Space.com celebrates humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier.
Key services
space news articles, space exploration updates, astronomy guides, videos, product reviews
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, Google Tag Manager, Marfeel SDK, Vanilla JS, Web Fonts (Open Sans)
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • no exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • use of security headers inferred

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Google Analytics via GTM
Marketing tools
Marfeel SDK
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 use of structured data and SEO best practices.
  3. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found on main page.
  4. Privacy and cookie policies are present and comprehensive.
  5. No explicit security or incident response contact information found.
  6. WHOIS data is missing or unavailable, which is unusual for a major domain.
  7. Website uses multiple third-party scripts and ad networks with tracking.
  8. Content is safe and suitable for general audiences.
  9. Branding and design are consistent and professional.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including JavaScript, Google Tag Manager, and a CDN infrastructure from Future plc. It employs web fonts and asynchronous script loading to optimize performance. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations. SEO is well implemented with meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. No technical debt or deprecated technologies were detected in the provided content. Hosting appears stable and performance is fast. Opportunities exist to further enhance technical transparency by documenting security and privacy technical controls.
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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