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Security report for theconversation.com

The Conversation · Media · N/a

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

75/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Conversation is a well-established media platform founded in 2003, specializing in publishing in-depth academic and research-based news and analysis. It targets academics, researchers, and the general public interested in informed commentary on global issues. The platform operates multiple regional editions, including Europe, and maintains a strong market position as a reputable source of scholarly journalism. Technically, the website leverages modern web technologies such as Next.js and React, integrates consent management via Didomi, and uses Google Analytics and Tag Manager for analytics and tracking. The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS and uses cookie consent mechanisms, but lacks DNSSEC and explicit security policies or incident response contacts. No vulnerabilities or suspicious domains were detected. Privacy compliance is strong with clear GDPR-aligned policies and consent banners. Overall, the website demonstrates a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and content quality, suitable for its academic and media audience.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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

4 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 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 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

  3. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching theconversation.com

This scan found 20 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
72
Security headers
50
Email security
82
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
65
Average
75

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 theconversation.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
1,626
Employees
2
Customers
1,585
Third parties
39
Weak passwords
11%

Latest record dated 2025-12-04 · 9 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 theconversation.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –theconversation.com2025-12-04
  • –theconversation.com2025-10-29

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

The Conversation operates as a media publishing platform with a business model centered on delivering curated academic content and research news. Its competitive advantage lies in its editorial rigor and academic authorship, appealing to a niche audience valuing credible and research-backed information. Revenue streams likely include advertising, sponsored content, and newsletter subscriptions. The platform's partnership ecosystem includes social media channels such as Facebook for content distribution. Growth indicators include multiple regional editions and a large content repository. Strategic observations suggest opportunities to enhance security transparency and incident response readiness to further strengthen trust.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place, reflecting compliance with privacy regulations. However, the absence of DNSSEC and a publicly available security policy or incident response contacts indicates areas for improvement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. The use of third-party scripts like Google Tag Manager and Didomi is standard but requires ongoing monitoring for vulnerabilities. The lack of a security.txt file or vulnerability disclosure policy may limit external security engagement. Overall, the security maturity is good but could benefit from enhanced transparency and DNS security.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and incident response procedures.
  3. Create and maintain a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  4. Add clear contact information for security and abuse reporting to improve trust and responsiveness.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Conversation
Description
Curated by professional editors, The Conversation offers informed commentary and debate on the issues affecting our world. Plus a Plain English guide to the latest developments and discoveries from the university and research sector.
Key services
Publishing academic articles, Curated news and analysis, Newsletter distribution
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (Next.js), Didomi Consent Management, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Webpack
Frameworks
Next.js
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with opt-in/out
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of modern JavaScript frameworks

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.
  2. Strong focus on academic and research-based content.
  3. Uses modern web technologies and consent management.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the main page.
  5. Privacy and cookie policies are present and GDPR compliant.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies visible.
  7. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt found.
  8. No suspicious or malicious domains linked.
  9. Good SEO and accessibility practices observed.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack featuring React and Next.js frameworks, enabling server-side rendering and optimized performance. It uses Didomi for consent management and integrates Google Analytics and Tag Manager for user tracking and analytics. The site demonstrates fast loading times, excellent mobile optimization, and good accessibility features. The hosting provider is not explicitly identified but DNS records show use of 1API GmbH as registrar and DNSimple/DNSUnlimited for DNS services. The site uses a custom or proprietary CMS, as no common CMS signatures were detected. Technical risks include the lack of DNSSEC and potential dependency on multiple third-party scripts. Overall, the technical infrastructure is robust and well-maintained.
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. 76/100Low27 findingsView report
  2. 76/100Low27 findingsView report
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