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Security report for zdf.social

ZDF Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen · Media · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Email security, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

ZDF.social is a Mastodon instance operated by Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), a major German public broadcaster. The platform provides decentralized social media services leveraging the open-source Mastodon software, targeting a general audience interested in public broadcasting and social media engagement within the fediverse. The website is professionally designed with consistent branding and clear contact information, reflecting the organization's reputable market position. Technically, the site runs Mastodon version 4.3.8 with modern JavaScript and React-based front-end components. It uses WebSockets for real-time communication and is hosted on DNS servers under the zdf.de domain. The site is mobile optimized and performs moderately well, though there is room for improvement in SEO and accessibility features. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and has domain transfer protections in place. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and security headers are not explicitly present in the HTML content. There is no visible security or incident response policy, and cookie consent mechanisms are absent, which could be improved to enhance GDPR compliance. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong business credibility and a good security posture. Strategic improvements in security headers, DNSSEC, and privacy compliance would further strengthen its position.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

  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 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 zdf.social

This scan found 21 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
80
Email security
60
DNS health
75
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
53
Average
63

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 zdf.social, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for zdf.social 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

ZDF.social operates as a specialized social media platform under the umbrella of ZDF, a large public media entity in Germany. Its market positioning leverages the trust and recognition of ZDF to offer a decentralized social media experience via Mastodon. The business model focuses on community engagement and content dissemination rather than commercial monetization. The platform targets users interested in public media and decentralized social networking, with a small but active user base. Partnerships are primarily with the Mastodon open-source community. Growth potential lies in expanding user adoption and enhancing platform features aligned with public broadcasting values.

Security posture

The security maturity of zdf.social is moderate to good. HTTPS is enforced, and domain registration details are transparent and consistent with the organization's identity. The absence of DNSSEC and security headers represents a moderate gap. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The lack of explicit security policies or incident response contacts limits transparency. GDPR compliance is partially addressed through a privacy policy but lacks cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the platform demonstrates a responsible security approach suitable for a public broadcaster but would benefit from enhanced technical controls and policy disclosures.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Add a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to comply fully with GDPR requirements.
  4. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  5. Regularly audit and update the Mastodon instance and dependencies to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
VAT number
DE 149 065 327
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ZDF Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
Description
Die Mastodon-Instanz des ZDF - Decentralized social media powered by Mastodon
Key services
Mastodon social media hosting, Public broadcasting content dissemination
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.3.8, JavaScript, CSS chunking, WebSockets (wss://zdf.social)
Frameworks
Mastodon
Platforms
Fediverse
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by wss and https URLs)
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon instance operated by a major German public broadcaster.
  2. Content is professional and consistent with the organization's branding.
  3. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  4. Limited user base indicated (4 active users).
  5. No cookie consent mechanism detected despite GDPR relevance.
  6. No explicit terms of service or security policy pages found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Mastodon 4.3.8, utilizing modern JavaScript and React frameworks. It employs chunked CSS and JavaScript for performance optimization and uses WebSockets for real-time features. The hosting environment is not explicitly disclosed but uses DNS servers under the zdf.de domain, indicating internal or trusted hosting. The site is mobile responsive and has basic accessibility features. SEO is basic with proper meta tags and Open Graph data but could be enhanced. No CMS is detected, as the platform is a custom Mastodon instance. Performance is moderate, with potential improvements in caching and asset optimization.
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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