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Security report for zdfinfo.de

ZDF · Media · Germany

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

ZDFinfo is a German public broadcasting service offering a wide range of documentaries, reports, and educational content primarily targeting a general audience interested in knowledge and culture. It operates under the ZDF umbrella, a major and reputable public broadcaster in Germany. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence with a modern React and Next.js technology stack, optimized for performance and mobile devices. Privacy and cookie consent mechanisms are well implemented, reflecting compliance with GDPR requirements. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and appropriate security headers, though explicit security policy and incident response information are not found. Overall, the domain and website are legitimate and trustworthy, with a high-quality user experience and professional content presentation.

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

6 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

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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. 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

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

Keep watching zdfinfo.de

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
100
Security headers
40
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
40
Average
70

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 zdfinfo.de, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for zdfinfo.de 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

ZDFinfo holds a strong market position as part of the ZDF public broadcasting network, serving a large audience with documentary and educational media content. Its business model is publicly funded broadcasting, focusing on content quality and public service rather than commercial revenue. The website integrates with multiple partner broadcasters and platforms, enhancing its content ecosystem. The absence of direct contact emails or phone numbers on the main site suggests reliance on contact forms and official channels. The partnership ecosystem includes major German and European public broadcasters, reinforcing its credibility and reach.

Security posture

The website exhibits a good security maturity level with HTTPS, security headers, and cookie consent mechanisms in place. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of a dedicated security policy page, vulnerability disclosure, or incident response contact information indicates room for improvement in transparency and readiness. Compliance with GDPR is evident through privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security posture is solid but could be enhanced by publishing explicit security and incident response information.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and frameworks.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contacts.
  3. Enhance transparency by providing direct contact information for security and data protection inquiries.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure no vulnerabilities are introduced.
  5. Maintain and update privacy and cookie policies to reflect evolving regulations and technologies.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ZDF
Description
ZDFinfo offers documentaries, reports, portraits and more for streaming and knowledge deepening.
Key services
Documentaries, Reports, Streaming content
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, JavaScript, CSS
Frameworks
Next.js, React
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a public broadcaster media platform with extensive documentary content.
  2. Content is well organized with multiple categories and filtering options.
  3. Strong privacy and cookie consent mechanisms are implemented.
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  5. Social media presence is extensive and official.
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main page; contact via forms.
  7. WHOIS data is limited due to DENIC restrictions but domain is stable and legitimate.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern React and Next.js framework, indicating a contemporary and scalable technical infrastructure. It employs multiple CSS stylesheets and asynchronous JavaScript chunks for optimized loading. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations. Performance appears fast with preloading of fonts and images. No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary content management approach. Hosting provider details are not disclosed in the HTML content. The technical implementation supports a high-quality user experience with good SEO and accessibility features.
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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