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Security report for ted.com

TED Conferences LLC · Education · United States

Low risk. 1 critical or high finding in Security headers.

Security score

83/100

Risk levelLow

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

TED Conferences LLC operates the TED platform, a globally recognized non-profit media organization dedicated to spreading ideas through influential talks on education, technology, business, and creativity. The website serves as a comprehensive hub for accessing TED Talks, playlists, series, and educational content such as TED-Ed videos. TED maintains a strong market position as a leading source of inspirational and educational media, targeting a broad general audience interested in knowledge and innovation. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies including React and Next.js, supported by performance and monitoring tools like New Relic and Visual Website Optimizer. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices, features fast loading times, and implements accessibility best practices. Advertising is managed through reputable networks with transparent consent mechanisms, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. From a security perspective, TED employs HTTPS with strong SSL configurations and security headers such as Content Security Policy and Strict-Transport-Security. While no critical vulnerabilities were detected, the absence of a public security policy or vulnerability disclosure program suggests room for improvement in transparency and incident response readiness. The WHOIS data is unavailable, likely due to privacy protection, but the website's professional presence and consistent branding support its legitimacy. Overall, TED's website demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure with excellent content quality and user experience. Strategic recommendations include publishing explicit security policies, establishing a vulnerability disclosure channel, and enhancing security contact information to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of ted.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 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

1 finding 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 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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Keep watching ted.com

This scan found 15 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.

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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
95
Security headers
70
Email security
72
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
83

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 ted.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
102,591
Employees
2
Customers
102,452
Third parties
137
Weak passwords
16%

Latest record dated 2025-07-23 · 70 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 ted.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –auth.ted.com2025-07-23
  • –auth.ted.com2025-07-20

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)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

TED holds a prominent position in the education and media sectors, operating as a large non-profit organization founded in 1984. Its business model focuses on providing free access to high-quality educational content and hosting global conferences and events. Revenue streams include memberships, donations, and partnerships. TED's target customers are knowledge seekers, educators, and innovators worldwide. The organization maintains a broad partnership ecosystem including affiliated sites for podcasts, blogs, courses, and fellowships. TED's brand is globally recognized, supported by consistent messaging and professional digital presence, indicating strong market influence and growth potential.

Security posture

The website exhibits a strong security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. However, the lack of a published security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure program limits transparency and may impact stakeholder confidence. The use of third-party scripts for analytics and advertising is managed responsibly but requires ongoing monitoring to mitigate supply chain risks. Overall, TED demonstrates a mature security culture but should enhance public security communications and incident readiness.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a detailed security policy and incident response plan on the website.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Provide explicit security contact information for reporting incidents or vulnerabilities.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and dependencies to prevent vulnerabilities.
  5. Maintain and communicate data retention and privacy policies clearly to users.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
TED Conferences LLC
Description
TED is a media organization that posts influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, technology, and creativity, with subtitles in over 100 languages. It offers free streaming and downloads of TED Talks.
Key services
TED Talks video library, Playlists and series, TED-Ed educational videos, TED Conferences and events, Membership and donations
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, New Relic monitoring, Google DoubleClick ads, OneTrust cookie consent
Frameworks
React, Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Content Security Policy implemented
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
New Relic
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
New Relic, Visual Website Optimizer, OneTrust
Marketing tools
Visual Website Optimizer, OneTrust
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 privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms implemented.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact via forms.
  4. Uses modern web technologies and performance monitoring tools.
  5. Advertising is present but transparent and limited to reputable networks.
  6. No security.txt or explicit security policy found; opportunity for improvement.
  7. WHOIS data is unavailable, likely due to privacy protection or registry restrictions.
Technical notes

Notes

TED's website is built on a modern React and Next.js framework, ensuring high performance and scalability. The integration of New Relic and Visual Website Optimizer indicates a focus on monitoring and continuous improvement. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Advertising and tracking are implemented with transparency and user consent. No significant technical debt or outdated technologies were identified. Opportunities exist to enhance security transparency and incident response capabilities. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports TED's mission effectively with room for incremental improvements.
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. 76/100Low25 findingsView report
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