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Security report for theglobeandmail.com

The Globe and Mail · Media · Canada

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Globe and Mail is a leading Canadian news media organization established in 1844, providing authoritative national and international news, business analysis, and political coverage. It targets Canadian readers and professionals seeking reliable news and insights. The website employs a modern technology stack including React and various advertising and analytics platforms, ensuring a responsive and engaging user experience across devices. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement, comprehensive security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism and trustworthiness, although the absence of WHOIS data slightly impacts domain trust assessment.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

      What to do: Add SPF record: "v=spf1 include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com ~all"

  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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

  3. 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

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

Keep watching theglobeandmail.com

This scan found 24 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

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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
70
Security headers
40
Email security
40
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
63

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

The Globe and Mail operates primarily as a subscription-based news outlet supplemented by advertising revenue. It holds a dominant market position in Canadian media with a large audience base. The company leverages partnerships with major ad networks and analytics providers to optimize monetization and user engagement. Its content quality and editorial standards are high, supported by policies on ethics, corrections, and diversity. The business model focuses on digital subscriptions and advertising, targeting a broad demographic interested in Canadian and global news. The company maintains active social media channels and provides multiple contact points for public engagement.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, multiple security headers such as CSP and HSTS, and secure form implementations including recaptcha. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements, indicating compliance with data protection regulations. However, no explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure pages were found, suggesting room for improvement in transparency and readiness. Overall, the security measures are robust and appropriate for a high-profile media organization.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publicize a dedicated vulnerability disclosure policy and security.txt file to enhance transparency and security collaboration.
  2. Enhance incident response visibility by providing clear security contact channels for reporting issues.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries to mitigate emerging vulnerabilities.
  4. Continue to improve user privacy education and consent mechanisms in line with evolving regulations.
  5. Consider publishing certifications or compliance attestations to strengthen trust signals.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Globe and Mail
Description
The Globe and Mail offers the most authoritative news in Canada, featuring national and international news
Key services
News reporting, Business analysis, Political news, International news, Digital subscriptions
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Prebid.js, Google Tag Manager, Amazon A9 Ads, DoubleClick for Publishers, Zephr, Braze, Comscore, Chartbeat, Ketch
Frameworks
React
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with recaptcha
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Chartbeat, Comscore, Google Analytics (via GTM)
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google DoubleClick, Amazon A9, Rubicon Project
Tracking pixels
Chartbeat, Comscore, Braze
Marketing tools
Braze, Queryly
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 Canadian news media outlet with comprehensive content
  2. Uses modern web technologies and advertising platforms
  3. Strong privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms
  4. No evidence of security blocking or WAF challenges
  5. WHOIS data unavailable, possibly due to privacy or registry limitations
  6. Good SEO and accessibility practices observed
  7. Multiple social media and contact channels provided
Technical notes

Notes

The Globe and Mail website is built on a modern React framework with integration of advanced advertising technologies such as Prebid.js and Amazon A9, alongside analytics tools like Chartbeat and Comscore. The site demonstrates good performance and mobile optimization, with comprehensive SEO metadata and accessibility features. Hosting details are not explicitly identified, but the presence of Akamai-related scripts suggests CDN usage. The technical infrastructure supports a high-quality user experience but should maintain vigilance on third-party dependencies and evolving web standards to sustain performance and security.
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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