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Security report for thewirecutter.com

The New York Times · Media · United States

Low risk. 1 critical or high finding in GDPR outside view.

Security score

84/100

Risk levelLow

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

Wirecutter, a subsidiary of The New York Times, is a leading product review and recommendation website that provides consumers with trusted buying advice across a wide range of categories including technology, appliances, and gear. The site leverages veteran journalists and experts to deliver high-quality, well-researched content that supports affiliate marketing revenue streams. The website is professionally designed, mobile-optimized, and features a modern technology stack including React and Next.js, ensuring fast performance and good user experience. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement, comprehensive security headers, and privacy compliance mechanisms such as cookie consent banners. However, explicit security policies and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not publicly available, representing an area for improvement. Overall, Wirecutter demonstrates a mature digital presence with high trustworthiness and business credibility.

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

1 finding rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
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  • 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
100
Security headers
70
Email security
70
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
84

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 thewirecutter.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
220
Employees
0
Customers
166
Third parties
54
Weak passwords
20%

6 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 thewirecutter.com.

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Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Wirecutter operates within the media sector, focusing on consumer product reviews and affiliate marketing. Its market position is strong due to its affiliation with The New York Times, a globally recognized media brand. The business model relies on content publishing combined with affiliate commissions and advertising revenue. Target customers are consumers seeking reliable product recommendations. The site maintains partnerships with major retailers such as Amazon, Bloomingdale's, IKEA, and The Container Store, enhancing its affiliate marketing capabilities. Growth indicators include frequent content updates and a broad range of product categories. The partnership ecosystem is robust, supporting monetization and content relevance.

Security posture

The website exhibits a high level of security maturity with enforced HTTPS, modern security headers including Content Security Policy, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms. However, the absence of a public security policy, incident response information, and vulnerability disclosure channels limits transparency and may impact incident handling readiness. No known vulnerabilities or security incidents are evident from the analysis. The security culture appears professional but could benefit from enhanced communication of security practices to users and researchers.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and user trust.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Enhance contact information with dedicated security and abuse reporting channels.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and dependencies to ensure no vulnerable libraries are included.
  5. Continue to monitor privacy compliance and update consent mechanisms in line with evolving regulations.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
The New York Times
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
The New York Times
Description
Wirecutter tests and reviews the best tech, appliances, gear, and more. You can trust our veteran journalists, scientists, and experts to find the best stuff.
Key services
Product reviews, Buying guides, Daily deals
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Google Tag Manager, Chartbeat, IterateHQ, Ethical Cookie Consent (Fides), Cloudfront CDN
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Content Security Policy implemented
  • Cookie consent and privacy compliance scripts
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Chartbeat
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Outbrain
Tracking pixels
Chartbeat, Facebook Connect
Marketing tools
IterateHQ
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 no blocking.
  2. Strong affiliation with The New York Times enhances trust.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main page; contact likely via forms or corporate pages.
  5. Modern tech stack and good security headers implemented.
  6. Affiliate marketing is clearly disclosed.
  7. No security.txt or explicit vulnerability disclosure found.
  8. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerabilities detected.
Technical notes

Notes

Wirecutter's technical infrastructure is modern and robust, utilizing React and Next.js frameworks for server-side rendering and client-side interactivity. The site is hosted on a CDN (Amazon Cloudfront), ensuring fast content delivery globally. Performance metrics indicate fast loading times and excellent mobile optimization. Accessibility features are implemented to a good standard, supporting a wide user base. SEO is well addressed through proper meta tags, Open Graph data, and structured JSON-LD schema. The site uses multiple analytics and marketing tools including Google Analytics, Chartbeat, and IterateHQ, balanced with privacy compliance efforts. Technical risks are minimal, but ongoing maintenance of third-party integrations is recommended to avoid technical debt.
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. 84/100Low19 findingsView report
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