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Security report for storytelgroup.com

Storytel AB (publ). · Media · Sweden

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Storytel AB operates one of the world's largest audiobook and e-book streaming platforms, serving over 2.3 million subscribers with a vast catalog in multiple languages. The company combines digital streaming with print publishing, positioning itself as a leading media entity in Sweden and internationally. Their website reflects a mature digital presence with strong investor relations and corporate governance transparency. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with Bootstrap, hosted via Cloudflare, and integrates Cookiebot for GDPR-compliant cookie management and Google Tag Manager for marketing analytics. However, the absence of a valid SSL certificate and lack of modern TLS protocols represent significant security weaknesses. The site also exhibits slow load times, which could impact user experience and SEO. Security headers are minimal, with only SPF and DMARC configured, and no advanced protections like HSTS or CSP are present. Overall, while the business and content quality are excellent, the security posture requires urgent improvement to protect user data and maintain trust.

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

6 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 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 storytelgroup.com

This scan found 16 issues across 5 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

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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
100
Security headers
55
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
25
Average
73

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's market position as a major player in audiobook and e-book streaming is supported by a subscription-based business model and a dual focus on digital and print publishing. Their target audience includes consumers of digital stories, authors, publishers, and investors. The company maintains a transparent investor relations section with financial reports and governance details, indicating a well-structured corporate environment. Partnerships with Cookiebot and Cloudflare enhance compliance and performance, though the latter's security benefits are undermined by the invalid SSL certificate. The company leverages Google services for marketing and analytics, reflecting a data-driven approach to customer engagement. No terms of service or explicit security policies were found, which could be a gap in user trust and legal compliance.

Security posture

The current security maturity level is low due to the lack of a valid SSL certificate and disabled TLS protocols, exposing users to potential data interception risks. SPF and DMARC records are properly configured, reducing email spoofing risks. Cookie consent is managed effectively via Cookiebot, supporting GDPR compliance. However, the absence of HSTS, OCSP stapling, session resumption, and certificate transparency compliance indicates incomplete SSL/TLS best practices. No public security policy, incident response information, or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms were identified, limiting transparency and readiness for security incidents. The website does not provide contact channels for security issues, which is a compliance and operational risk. Overall, the security posture requires significant enhancements to meet modern standards and regulatory requirements.

Recommendations

  1. Install and maintain a valid SSL/TLS certificate supporting TLS 1.2 or 1.3 to secure all user connections.
  2. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload to enforce HTTPS usage.
  3. Implement OCSP stapling and session resumption to improve SSL performance and reduce latency.
  4. Publish a clear security policy and incident response plan on the website, including dedicated contact channels for security issues.
  5. Establish a public vulnerability disclosure program and security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting and improve security culture.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Storytel AB (publ)
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with Bootstrap framework, hosted behind Cloudflare CDN and DNS services. It uses Cookiebot for cookie consent management and Google Tag Manager for marketing and analytics integration. The site has a slow load time (~14 seconds) and moderate mobile optimization and accessibility. SEO practices are good with proper metadata and Open Graph tags. However, the SSL/TLS configuration is severely lacking, with no valid certificate and no enabled TLS protocols, which is a critical technical risk. The DNS setup includes valid SPF and DMARC records but lacks DNSSEC and CAA records. The site uses modern web technologies but requires urgent security upgrades and performance optimization to reduce technical debt and operational risks.
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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