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Security report for storytel.com

Storytel · Media · Finland

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Storytel is a leading digital media company specializing in subscription-based audiobook and e-book streaming services, primarily serving the Nordic market with over 2.3 million users globally. Their platform offers a wide range of content including exclusive Storytel Originals, targeting diverse audiences such as regular listeners, families, and students. The company demonstrates strong brand consistency and a comprehensive digital presence with localized content and multiple subscription tiers. Technically, Storytel employs modern web technologies including React and Next.js, supported by robust third-party services for analytics, marketing, and customer support. While their SSL configuration is valid, there are opportunities to enhance security by enabling HSTS, DNSSEC, and improving CAA records. The site features extensive cookie management and complies with GDPR, reflecting a mature privacy posture. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly available, indicating an area for improvement. Overall, Storytel maintains a high level of professionalism and trustworthiness, with a strong focus on user experience and content quality.

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. 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 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

    • 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

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

Keep watching storytel.com

This scan found 18 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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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
67
Security headers
40
Email security
98
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
25
Average
70

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

Storytel holds a dominant position in the Nordic audiobook market, leveraging a subscription model that caters to various customer segments including individual users, families, and students. Their competitive advantage lies in exclusive content offerings and a user-friendly platform accessible across multiple devices. The company integrates with key partners for payment processing, customer support, and marketing, enhancing operational efficiency and customer engagement. Growth indicators include a large and active user base, frequent content updates, and strategic promotions such as student discounts and family plans. Storytel's partnership ecosystem includes notable entities like Mofibo, Zendesk, and Adyen, which support their service delivery and marketing efforts. The business model emphasizes recurring revenue through tiered subscription plans, with clear trial periods and flexible cancellation policies. Strategic observations suggest continued investment in exclusive content and technology enhancements to maintain market leadership and expand global reach.

Security posture

Storytel exhibits a moderate to good security maturity level with foundational protections such as valid SSL certificates, SPF, and DMARC records in place. The absence of DNSSEC and HSTS indicates potential vulnerabilities to DNS spoofing and downgrade attacks. The presence of a comprehensive cookie consent mechanism aligns with GDPR requirements, demonstrating attention to privacy compliance. However, the lack of publicly available security policies, incident response procedures, and vulnerability disclosure programs suggests limited transparency in security governance. The use of reputable third-party services for analytics and marketing introduces additional data protection considerations. Overall, while basic security controls are implemented, there is room to enhance the security posture by adopting advanced DNS protections, publishing security policies, and establishing formal incident response channels.

Recommendations

  1. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload to enforce secure connections.
  2. Implement DNSSEC to protect against DNS spoofing and improve domain name system security.
  3. Correct and properly configure CAA records to restrict certificate issuance to authorized authorities.
  4. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure and improve incident response readiness.
  5. Enhance SSL/TLS configuration by enabling strong cipher suites and supported protocols to mitigate cryptographic vulnerabilities.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern JavaScript frameworks React and Next.js, indicating a contemporary and scalable front-end architecture. Hosting and DNS services are provided by Cloudflare and Google Cloud, ensuring reliable content delivery and domain resolution. The site integrates multiple third-party services including Google Tag Manager, Cookiebot for consent management, Firebase for backend services, and Adyen for payment processing. Performance metrics indicate a relatively slow load time (12.6 seconds) and large page size (~4.3 MB), suggesting opportunities for optimization. Mobile optimization and accessibility are rated good, with responsive design and appropriate ARIA roles. SEO practices are well implemented with meta tags, Open Graph data, and alternate language links. Technical risks include potential performance bottlenecks and incomplete security configurations that could impact user experience and data protection.
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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