Skip to main content

Security report for technology.ie

Blacknight · Technology · Ireland

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

53/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Technology.ie is a well-established Irish technology news and opinions platform, featuring weekly podcasts and articles focused on internet news and technology trends. The site is owned and operated by Blacknight, a reputable Irish company, and targets technology enthusiasts and professionals in Ireland. The business model centers on content publishing and podcasting, with a strong emphasis on technology and social media topics. The website demonstrates consistent branding and good content quality, supported by structured data and SEO best practices. From a technical perspective, the site runs on WordPress with the Avada theme and integrates several modern technologies including Yoast SEO, Google Adsense for advertising, and Skimlinks for affiliate marketing. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and performs moderately well. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and privacy compliance evident through cookie and privacy policies linked to the parent company. However, there is room for improvement in security headers and explicit security policies. Overall, the website presents a professional and trustworthy front with no critical security issues detected. The domain registration details align well with the business claims, reinforcing legitimacy. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a security policy, and adding vulnerability disclosure mechanisms to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

5 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 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 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. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

Keep watching technology.ie

This scan found 23 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
70
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
68
Average
53

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 technology.ie, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for technology.ie right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Technology.ie occupies a niche as a leading Irish technology news and podcast platform, leveraging Blacknight's infrastructure and reputation. Its competitive advantage lies in localized content with a focus on Irish technology developments and social media trends. The business model is content-driven, monetized through advertising and affiliate programs. The target audience includes tech-savvy individuals and professionals interested in Irish and global technology news. The partnership ecosystem includes Blacknight and advertising networks like Google Adsense and Skimlinks. Growth indicators include frequent content updates and active social media engagement. The company maintains a professional digital presence with consistent branding and SEO optimization.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enabled and no visible exposure of sensitive data. Privacy and cookie consent mechanisms are implemented, supporting GDPR compliance. However, the absence of advanced security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and a dedicated security policy page indicates areas for enhancement. No incident response contacts or vulnerability disclosure policies are present, which could improve transparency and readiness. The use of third-party scripts like Google Adsense and Skimlinks introduces potential risk vectors that should be regularly audited. Overall, the site maintains a secure environment suitable for its content publishing role but would benefit from formalized security documentation and policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  3. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance form security with CAPTCHA or anti-bot measures to prevent abuse.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Blacknight
Description
Weekly Irish technology podcast with internet news and opinion.
Key services
Technology news articles, Technology opinion podcasts, Video content, News submission
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Avada Theme, Yoast SEO, Google Adsense, Skimlinks, jQuery
Frameworks
Avada Framework
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of privacy and cookie consent banners

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Adsense
Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (via gtag.js), Skimlinks
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional Irish technology news and podcast platform.
  2. Content is regularly updated with recent articles and podcasts.
  3. Strong use of structured data and SEO best practices.
  4. No critical security issues detected.
  5. Privacy and cookie policies are present and linked to a reputable parent company.
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the homepage.
  7. Advertising is present but not intrusive.
  8. Social media presence includes Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
  9. No terms of service or explicit security policy pages detected.
  10. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress using the Avada theme, a popular and feature-rich framework. It integrates Yoast SEO for search engine optimization and Google Adsense for monetization. The presence of Skimlinks indicates affiliate marketing integration. The site uses jQuery and other modern JavaScript libraries. Performance is moderate with some optimizations possible. Mobile responsiveness and accessibility are well addressed. The technical infrastructure is solid but could benefit from performance tuning and enhanced security configurations. Hosting appears to be managed by Blacknight, a reputable Irish hosting provider, ensuring reliable uptime and support.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with technology.ie. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review technology.ie.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.