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Security report for tagesschau.de

ARD-aktuell · Media · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and Security headers.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

tagesschau.de is the leading German news portal operated by ARD-aktuell, a public broadcasting organization. It provides comprehensive news coverage, live updates, and multimedia content to a broad German-speaking audience. The website is well-established with a domain age consistent with its long history in the media sector. The platform is professionally designed, mobile-optimized, and highly accessible, reflecting a mature digital presence. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies including JavaScript frameworks, SVG graphics, JSON-LD structured data, and integrates third-party services such as AB Tasty for A/B testing and Google Cast SDK for media streaming. Hosting is managed via Google Cloud DNS, ensuring reliable and scalable infrastructure. SEO and accessibility practices are well implemented, supporting strong search engine visibility and user experience. From a security perspective, tagesschau.de enforces HTTPS with excellent SSL configuration and implements key security headers like CSP and HSTS. The site avoids exposing sensitive data and uses deferred script loading to enhance security. Privacy compliance is robust, with clear privacy and cookie policies, GDPR adherence, and a cookie consent mechanism. However, explicit security policy and incident response contact pages are not publicly found, which could be improved. Overall, the website demonstrates a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and compliance, making it a reliable source of news. Strategic recommendations include publishing a dedicated security policy, providing incident response contacts, and continuous monitoring of third-party scripts to maintain security posture.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of tagesschau.de. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
33/ 100 · High
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. 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 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

  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 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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  • 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
60
Email security
75
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
33
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

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 tagesschau.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
565
Employees
0
Customers
518
Third parties
47
Weak passwords
21%

6 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 tagesschau.de.

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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

tagesschau.de holds a dominant position in the German media landscape as a public broadcasting news service under ARD. Its business model focuses on providing free, publicly funded news content to the general population. The site leverages multimedia content and mobile applications to engage users. Revenue streams are primarily public funding rather than advertising, though some marketing tools and A/B testing are used to optimize user engagement. The partnership ecosystem includes ARD and related public media entities. The site’s growth is supported by its trusted brand and comprehensive news coverage, targeting a broad demographic interested in current affairs and information.

Security posture

The security maturity of tagesschau.de is strong, with enforced HTTPS, modern security headers, and privacy compliance mechanisms. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The use of third-party scripts like AB Tasty introduces some risk, but these are industry-standard tools. The absence of a public security policy and incident response contact is a gap in transparency and readiness. GDPR compliance is evident, and data protection officer contact is provided. Overall, the site maintains a secure environment appropriate for a high-profile media outlet, but could enhance incident response visibility and continuous security monitoring.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email).
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance transparency by detailing data retention policies and user data handling.
  5. Implement continuous security awareness and training for content and technical teams.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ARD-aktuell
Description
tagesschau.de is a German news website providing up-to-date news and information 365 days a year, around the clock.
Key services
News articles, Video news, Live updates, Mobile app
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, SVG, JSON-LD, Google Cast SDK, AB Tasty (A/B testing), Smartbanner.js
Frameworks
Custom ARD framework (in-house)
Platforms
Web, Mobile (via app links)
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of CSP
  • No exposed credentials in HTML
  • Deferred loading of scripts
  • Cookie consent mechanism

Analytics and tracking

Services
AB Tasty
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
AB Tasty
Tracking pixels
AB Tasty
Marketing tools
Smartbanner.js
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a major German public news service operated by ARD.
  2. Content is in German and professionally maintained.
  3. Strong focus on privacy and compliance with GDPR.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and good security practices.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  6. Multiple external domains used for content delivery and tracking.
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response page found.
  8. Contact information is available via contact page and imprint.
Technical notes

Notes

The website infrastructure is modern and robust, utilizing Google Cloud DNS for hosting and multiple CDN domains for content delivery. The tech stack includes JavaScript bundles, SVG graphics, and JSON-LD for structured data, supporting SEO and accessibility. Performance is optimized with deferred script loading and preconnect/dns-prefetch hints. Mobile optimization and accessibility features are well implemented, ensuring broad device compatibility and usability. Technical risks are minimal, with no outdated or vulnerable libraries detected in the provided HTML. Opportunities exist to formalize security documentation and incident response processes to reduce operational risk.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 74/100 +1Medium27 findingsView report
  2. 73/100Medium26 findingsView report
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