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Security report for timesofmalta.com

Times of Malta · Media · Malta

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Times of Malta is a well-established and leading news media organization based in Malta, providing comprehensive coverage of local and international news, sports, opinion, and community events. The website demonstrates a strong market position with a large audience and multiple specialized platforms such as X2 and a dedicated sports section. The business model is primarily based on digital news publishing supported by advertising revenue and subscription services. The company has a consistent and professional brand presence with high-quality content and user engagement.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
40/ 100 · High
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

4 findings 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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

    • 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

  2. 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.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

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

Keep watching timesofmalta.com

This scan found 15 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
0
Security headers
90
Email security
75
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
40
Average
65

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 timesofmalta.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
642
Employees
6
Customers
584
Third parties
52
Weak passwords
26%

Latest record dated 2025-07-20 · 16 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 timesofmalta.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –admin.timesofmalta.com2025-07-20
  • –www.timesofmalta.com2025-07-20
  • –www.timesofmalta.com2025-07-20
  • –timesofmalta.com2025-07-20
  • –cms.timesofmalta.com2025-07-20

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

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

The Times of Malta operates in the media sector with a focus on delivering timely and relevant news content to a broad audience. Its competitive advantage lies in its long-standing reputation since 1935, extensive content offerings, and integration of modern digital technologies. The company leverages a wide network of advertising partners and tracking vendors to monetize its content effectively. Its target customers include general news readers, sports fans, and community members in Malta and beyond. The presence of structured data and SEO optimization indicates a mature digital strategy aimed at maximizing reach and engagement.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with strong SSL configuration, uses a variety of security headers, and implements a comprehensive consent management platform to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The use of multiple third-party scripts and ad networks is managed with user consent, although explicit security and incident response policies are not publicly available. Overall, the security posture is robust but could be enhanced by publishing dedicated security and incident response information.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact page to enhance transparency.
  2. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  3. Enhance user education on privacy choices and data protection practices.
  4. Implement explicit security headers and document them publicly.
  5. Develop a long-term security strategy focusing on continuous compliance and risk management.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Times of Malta
Description
Times of Malta: independent local and international breaking news, sport, opinion, top stories, jobs, reviews, obituary listings and classifieds in Malta today.
Key services
News publishing, Sports coverage, Opinion articles, Classifieds, Job listings, E-paper, Video content
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics (gtag.js), Piano.io (paywall and adblock detection), Facebook Pixel, ShareThis, Marfeel SDK, Font Awesome 6, Google Fonts, Cxense (content personalization), DoubleClick (Google Ads), Google Consent Mode, Google Funding Choices, Material Icons, Open Sans font
Frameworks
React (implied by data-widget-react attributes), Google CMP (Consent Management Platform)
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management for privacy compliance
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure cookies (implied)
  • Adblock detection and handling

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Cxense, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ad Manager, DoubleClick, Taboola, Roq.ad, AdMaxim, Index Exchange, Quantcast, BeeswaxIO, Sovrn, Adikteev, RTB House, The UK Trade Desk, Nexxen, Epsilon, Yahoo EMEA, ADventori, Triple Lift, Xandr, NEORY, Piano
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Cxense
Marketing tools
Piano, ShareThis, Marfeel SDK
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional, well-established news media outlet based in Malta
  2. Extensive use of third-party advertising and tracking vendors with comprehensive consent management
  3. Good implementation of privacy and cookie policies with user consent mechanisms
  4. No critical security issues or WAF blocking detected
  5. Strong use of structured data (JSON-LD) for SEO and content organization
  6. Multiple sections covering diverse topics including National, World, Opinion, Sport, Tech, Business, etc.
  7. Social media presence includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (YouTube icon present but hidden)
  8. Use of modern web technologies and fonts for good user experience and accessibility
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including React-based components, Google Tag Manager, Piano paywall and adblock detection, Facebook Pixel, and various advertising and analytics platforms. It is optimized for mobile devices with good accessibility and SEO practices. Performance is moderate with room for improvement in loading times. The site uses extensive structured data (JSON-LD) for enhanced search engine visibility. Technical debt appears low, but continuous monitoring is recommended due to the complexity of third-party integrations.
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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