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Security report for theheist.com

The Heist · Media · United States

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

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Heist is a well-established creative studio specializing in animation, motion design, and live-action storytelling, operating as part of the Thinkingbox family. The company targets brands and agencies seeking high-quality, emotionally resonant brand content across digital, experiential, and broadcast platforms. Their market position is that of a niche creative agency with a medium-sized operational scale and a strong portfolio of services including post production and photography. Technically, the website is built on modern frameworks such as Vue.js and Nuxt.js, with content managed via Sanity CMS and hosted on AWS infrastructure. The site demonstrates good performance and mobile optimization, with integration of analytics and marketing tools like Google Tag Manager and HubSpot. Privacy and cookie compliance are well implemented, including consent mechanisms and clear policies. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, employs standard security headers, and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which is a recommended improvement. No critical vulnerabilities or compliance gaps were detected. The WHOIS data confirms a long-standing domain registration consistent with the business history, enhancing trustworthiness. Overall, The Heist presents a professional, secure, and privacy-conscious digital presence with strong business credibility. Strategic recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, publishing explicit security policies, and enhancing accessibility features to further improve compliance and user experience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 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 Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

  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 theheist.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

€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.

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Full report

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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
77
Security headers
15
Email security
55
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
67

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 Heist operates in the media sector as a creative production studio with a focus on animation and live-action content. Their business model revolves around providing end-to-end production services, handling everything in-house from pre to post production. The company benefits from being part of the Thinkingbox collective, which broadens their service ecosystem and market reach. Their target customers are primarily brands and agencies looking for impactful storytelling and brand content. The presence of partner agencies like AntiSocial indicates a collaborative approach to strategy and data-driven marketing. The company’s long domain age and multiple office locations across North America suggest stable growth and regional presence. Their digital maturity is evidenced by the use of modern web technologies and integrated marketing analytics.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers implemented, including HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and Content-Security-Policy. There is no evidence of exposed sensitive information or vulnerable libraries. The use of reputable third-party services like HubSpot and Google Tag Manager is well managed. However, the absence of DNSSEC is a minor gap in DNS security. No explicit security or incident response policies are published, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is strong, with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the security posture is robust for a creative agency website, with room for incremental improvements.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and preparedness.
  3. Conduct regular audits of third-party scripts and dependencies to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance website accessibility features to comply with standards and improve user experience for all visitors.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies regularly to ensure ongoing GDPR and privacy compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
The Heist
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Heist
Description
The Heist is a creative studio specializing in animation, motion design, and live-action storytelling. As part of the Thinkingbox family, The Heist blends craft and technology to create emotionally resonant brand content across digital, experiential, and broadcast platforms.
Key services
Animation, Motion Design, Live-action storytelling, Post production, Photography
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Nuxt.js, Vue.js, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot forms and analytics, Sanity CMS
Frameworks
Vue.js, Nuxt.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers
  • Use of reputable third-party scripts

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, HubSpot Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
HubSpot Analytics
Marketing tools
HubSpot forms and banners
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well maintained.
  2. Clear business focus on creative media production.
  3. Strong social media presence and external partnerships.
  4. Good privacy and cookie compliance with consent mechanisms.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and CMS.
  7. No exposed sensitive data or security issues detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using Nuxt.js and Vue.js frameworks, leveraging Sanity CMS for content management. Hosting is provided via AWS infrastructure, as indicated by the DNS servers. The site uses modern web fonts and responsive design techniques, ensuring good mobile optimization. Analytics and marketing integrations include Google Tag Manager and HubSpot, enabling data-driven marketing and user tracking. Performance is moderate, with some large media assets but overall good structure. The site uses security headers and HTTPS, contributing to a secure browsing experience. There is no evidence of legacy or vulnerable libraries. The technical stack is modern and well implemented, supporting the business goals effectively.
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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