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Security report for wirecutter.com

Wirecutter · Media · United States

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

84/100

Risk levelLow

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

Wirecutter, a product review and buying advice website owned by The New York Times, offers comprehensive and trusted reviews of technology, appliances, and gear. It targets consumers seeking reliable product recommendations and monetizes primarily through affiliate marketing and advertising. The website demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure leveraging modern web technologies such as Next.js, Google Tag Manager, and various CDNs to ensure fast, responsive, and accessible user experiences. Privacy and consent management are robustly implemented using the Fides framework, with detailed vendor disclosures and cookie policies that comply with GDPR standards. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and standard security headers likely in place, though explicit security and incident response policies are not publicly detailed. Overall, Wirecutter presents a professional, trustworthy, and user-friendly platform with extensive content quality and business credibility.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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. 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

  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.

    • 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 wirecutter.com

This scan found 14 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.

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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
72
Security headers
70
Email security
85
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
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 wirecutter.com, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for wirecutter.com right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

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

Wirecutter holds a strong market position as a leading product review site affiliated with The New York Times, leveraging its brand reputation to attract a large consumer audience. Its business model focuses on content-driven affiliate marketing and advertising revenue streams. The company targets tech-savvy consumers and general shoppers looking for expert advice. The ecosystem includes partnerships with numerous advertising vendors and tracking services, managed transparently through consent mechanisms. Growth indicators include extensive vendor disclosures and a well-maintained digital presence. The parent company relationship with The New York Times enhances credibility and operational scale.

Security posture

The website exhibits a high security maturity level with enforced HTTPS, use of security headers, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. Privacy compliance is strong with GDPR-aligned consent management and detailed vendor information. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy or incident response contact reduces transparency in security governance. No vulnerabilities or security incidents were detected in the analyzed content. Recommendations include publishing explicit security policies and establishing a vulnerability disclosure program to further enhance security culture and trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and controls.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information for security issues.
  3. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure or bug bounty program.
  4. Enhance transparency around data protection officer contact details.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party vendor disclosures and retention policies.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Wirecutter
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Wirecutter
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, Deals and discounts
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (Next.js), Google Tag Manager, Chartbeat, IterateHQ, Fides (consent management)
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management via Fides
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Chartbeat
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Outbrain, AdSpirit AdServer, AdKernel, AdGear, Aarki, AdTiming, Adventori, AcuityAds, AdElement Media Solutions
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 detected.
  2. Strong privacy and cookie consent mechanisms implemented via Fides.
  3. Comprehensive vendor disclosures with detailed retention and purpose information.
  4. Affiliated with The New York Times, a reputable media organization.
  5. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in HTML; contact likely via forms or external pages.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies published on main site.
  7. Use of modern web technologies and CDNs for performance and reliability.
  8. No adult or questionable content detected; content is safe for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern React-based framework (Next.js) with server-side rendering and static generation for performance. It integrates multiple third-party analytics and advertising technologies, including Google Tag Manager, Chartbeat, and Outbrain. Hosting and CDN services appear to be provided by Fastly and Akamai, ensuring global content delivery and reliability. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations. Technical debt appears minimal, with opportunities to improve documentation of security and privacy practices. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a fast, scalable, and secure user experience.
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. 83/100Low20 findingsView report
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