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Security report for theknowledgeonline.com

The Knowledge Online · Media · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Knowledge Online is a well-established media production directory serving the UK film, television, and commercials industry. It provides comprehensive contact information for crew and companies, available in both print and digital formats. The website reflects a professional and trusted resource with a long history dating back to 1986, positioning itself as a key industry directory. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including WooCommerce, Google Tag Manager, and various JavaScript libraries, ensuring a good user experience and moderate performance. Security-wise, the site employs HTTPS, security headers, and monitoring tools like New Relic, though there is room for improvement in CSP implementation and incident response transparency. Privacy compliance is strong with GDPR-aligned policies and cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professionally maintained, though the lack of WHOIS data slightly reduces domain trust. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security policies, improving accessibility, and publishing vulnerability disclosure information.

Scanned

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

2 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 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';…

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

Keep watching theknowledgeonline.com

This scan found 22 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
85
Security headers
25
Email security
55
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
72

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 Knowledge Online operates as a niche directory business targeting professionals in the UK media production sector. Its competitive advantage lies in its extensive and curated listings, longstanding market presence, and multi-format availability. Revenue likely derives from directory listings, advertising, and possibly subscription services. The target audience includes production companies, crew members, and industry stakeholders seeking reliable contact information. The company maintains a consistent brand and leverages social media channels for engagement. Growth indicators include digital transformation and integration of user-friendly search and booking features. Partnerships with industry bodies or media companies are plausible but not explicitly identified. The business model is focused on information provision and industry networking facilitation.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, multiple security headers, and active monitoring via New Relic. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates gaps in transparency and readiness. The site complies with GDPR through privacy and cookie policies but could enhance security by implementing a full Content Security Policy and publishing a security.txt file. Regular updates and patching of WordPress and plugins are recommended to mitigate risks. Overall, the security posture is good but can be improved to meet higher standards and build user trust.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a comprehensive Content Security Policy (CSP) to mitigate cross-site scripting risks.
  2. Publish a security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  3. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance with standards such as WCAG.
  5. Maintain regular updates of WordPress core and plugins to reduce vulnerability exposure.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Knowledge Online
Description
The Knowledge is a comprehensive production directory, giving you contact information of crew and comprehensive information on UK film, TV and commercial production. Available in both print and digital formats, The Knowledge is an essential resource for people working in the film, television & commercials production industry. First published in 1986, The Knowledge book is highly regarded as the go-to directory, covering more than 14,500 quality company and crew listings in the UK.
Key services
Production directory listings, Contact information for crew and companies, Industry news and updates
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, WooCommerce, Google Tag Manager, Google Adsense, jQuery, Select2, Dropzone, Magnific Popup, Flickity, Leaflet (maps), Advanced Custom Fields Pro, New Relic Browser monitoring
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security monitoring tools (New Relic)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Adsense, Google DoubleClick
Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional media production directory focused on UK film, TV, and commercials industry.
  2. Content is comprehensive and well-structured with good SEO and accessibility.
  3. No WHOIS data available, indicating privacy protection or unregistered domain.
  4. Uses modern web technologies and security best practices.
  5. Includes cookie consent and privacy policy compliant with GDPR.
  6. No signs of adult or unsafe content.
  7. Advertising and analytics are implemented with major providers like Google Adsense and Google Analytics.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with WooCommerce for e-commerce capabilities. It uses a variety of JavaScript libraries including jQuery, Select2, Dropzone, and Flickity for UI enhancements. Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are integrated for marketing and analytics. The site employs Leaflet for map functionalities and Advanced Custom Fields Pro for content management. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Mobile responsiveness is good, and SEO practices are well implemented with meta tags and structured data. Security monitoring is active via New Relic. The technical infrastructure is modern and supports the business needs effectively, though hosting provider details are not disclosed.
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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