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Security report for theverge.com

The Verge · Technology · N/a

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

The Verge is a prominent technology and science news website founded in 2011 and owned by Vox Media. It delivers a wide range of content including breaking news, reviews, features, videos, podcasts, and newsletters targeting technology enthusiasts and the general public interested in tech. The site maintains a strong market position as a leading modern media company dedicated to high-quality journalism, supported by multiple industry awards and a consistent brand presence. Technically, The Verge employs a modern technology stack including React and Next.js frameworks, integrated with various advertising and analytics platforms such as Amazon Ads, Google Analytics, and Concert Ads. The website is optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility, providing an excellent user experience with clear navigation and professional design. From a security perspective, the website enforces HTTPS, implements standard security headers, and uses mechanisms like reCAPTCHA and cookie consent tools to enhance user privacy and security. However, explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly available, and no vulnerability disclosure program is evident. The WHOIS data for the domain is unavailable, likely due to registry privacy or query limitations, but this does not detract from the site's legitimacy given its strong brand and ownership. Overall, The Verge presents a low-risk profile with robust business credibility, technical maturity, and good privacy compliance. Strategic recommendations include publishing explicit security and incident response policies, adding a vulnerability disclosure channel, and improving transparency around contact information for security and privacy inquiries.

Scanned

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

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

3 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"

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • 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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching theverge.com

This scan found 13 issues across 5 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
75
Security headers
50
Email security
100
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
81

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 Verge operates in the technology media sector, leveraging a content-driven business model that includes advertising, subscriptions, and sponsored content. Its competitive advantage lies in award-winning journalism, a broad content portfolio, and a strong digital presence across multiple platforms. The target audience includes tech enthusiasts, consumers seeking product reviews, and general readers interested in science and entertainment technology. The company benefits from Vox Media's infrastructure and resources, enabling scalability and innovation. Growth indicators include active social media engagement and frequent content updates. Partnerships with major social platforms and advertising networks support monetization and audience reach.

Security posture

The Verge demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and use of anti-bot and consent technologies. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure program represents a compliance gap and potential risk in incident management and transparency. GDPR compliance is indicated through privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. The site would benefit from enhanced security communication and formalized disclosure channels to align with best practices and regulatory expectations.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page detailing security practices and user protections.
  2. Establish and publicize an incident response contact channel, such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  3. Implement and advertise a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Enhance transparency by providing clear contact information for privacy and security inquiries.
  5. Regularly review and update privacy and cookie policies to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The Verge
Description
The Verge is a technology and science news website founded in 2011. It offers its readers breaking tech news, tech reviews, award-winning features and investigations through articles, videos, podcasts, and newsletters.
Key services
breaking news, tech reviews, features and investigations, videos, podcasts, newsletters
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Google Analytics, Amazon Ads, Concert Ads, Zephr, Bullwhip, Google reCAPTCHA, OneTrust Cookie Consent
Frameworks
Next.js, React
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of reCAPTCHA
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Scorecard Research
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Amazon Ads, Google AdSense/DoubleClick, Rubicon Project, Concert Ads
Tracking pixels
Scorecard Research
Marketing tools
Zephr, Bullwhip, 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 modern design.
  2. Strong presence of social media and external links to reputable platforms.
  3. Use of multiple advertising and analytics technologies indicating monetization and audience measurement.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the main page or metadata.
  5. Privacy and cookie policies are present and integrated with consent mechanisms.
  6. No explicit security or incident response contact information found.
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, possibly due to registry privacy or query limitations.
Technical notes

Notes

The Verge's technical infrastructure is modern and robust, utilizing React and Next.js for frontend rendering and dynamic content delivery. Integration with multiple advertising and analytics services supports monetization and audience insights. The site is optimized for fast loading and mobile responsiveness, with good SEO and accessibility features. The use of proprietary CMS (likely Vox Media's Chorus) enables efficient content management. Technical risks are minimal, though reliance on multiple third-party scripts necessitates ongoing monitoring for vulnerabilities. Opportunities exist to further enhance security transparency and streamline user data protection mechanisms.
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. 80/100 −2Low20 findingsView report
  2. 82/100Low19 findingsView report
  3. 82/100Low18 findingsView report
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