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Security report for zirk.us

zirk.us · Technology · Germany

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

72/100

Risk levelMedium

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

zirk.us operates as an independent Mastodon social network server focused on the arts and humanities community, providing a platform for readers, writers, and academics to engage in cultural and intellectual discussions. The website leverages the Mastodon open-source platform, utilizing modern web technologies such as React and JavaScript ES modules to deliver a responsive and user-friendly experience. The domain is well-established, registered since 2004, and managed via GoDaddy with protective domain status flags, enhancing trustworthiness. However, the domain predates the Mastodon platform, indicating repurposing of the domain for this service. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS enabled but lacks DNSSEC and security headers, and privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or terms of service found. Overall, the site is functional, trustworthy, and serves a niche community with good content quality and technical implementation.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

5 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 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.

    • 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
    • High

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 29 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 384-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching zirk.us

This scan found 20 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
42
Security headers
75
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
72

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 zirk.us, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
10
Employees
0
Customers
10
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
0%

1 subdomain 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 zirk.us.

Select it in the checkout above.

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

The business model centers on providing a community-driven social networking service within the fediverse, targeting arts and humanities enthusiasts globally. The platform's competitive advantage lies in its niche focus and use of Mastodon's decentralized architecture, appealing to users seeking alternatives to mainstream social media. Revenue streams are not explicit but likely rely on community support or donations typical for Mastodon instances. The server has a modest active user base (~627 monthly active users), indicating a small but engaged community. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not evident. The platform's open-source foundation and transparent administration by a named individual contribute to its credibility and community trust.

Security posture

The security maturity level is moderate. HTTPS is enforced, and domain registration includes protective status flags preventing unauthorized changes. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or Strict-Transport-Security reduces the overall security posture. No vulnerability disclosures, incident response contacts, or security policies are published, which limits transparency and readiness for security incidents. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The platform would benefit from implementing additional security best practices and formalizing security policies to enhance trust and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and security.
  2. Implement standard security headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options) to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.
  3. Add a cookie consent mechanism to comply with privacy regulations and improve user trust.
  4. Publish clear terms of service and security policies including incident response contacts.
  5. Consider adding a vulnerability disclosure policy and security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
zirk.us
Description
Literature, philosophy, film, music, culture, politics, history, architecture: join the circus of the arts and humanities! For readers, writers, academics or anyone wanting to follow the conversation.
Key services
Mastodon social networking, Content sharing and discussion platform
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.4.7, React, JavaScript ES Modules, CSS, HTML5
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Mastodon
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Domain status includes clientUpdateProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientDeleteProhibited, clientRenewProhibited

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon social network instance focused on arts and humanities.
  2. Content is user-generated posts typical of Mastodon platform.
  3. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found on the page.
  4. Privacy policy is present but basic; no cookie consent mechanism detected.
  5. No terms of service or security policies explicitly stated.
  6. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
  7. Site uses modern JavaScript modules and React framework.
  8. No security headers detected in provided data; DNSSEC not enabled.
  9. Domain is well-registered and protected against unauthorized changes.
  10. No adult or NSFW content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Mastodon platform version 4.4.7, utilizing React and modern JavaScript modules for frontend rendering. The site loads multiple JavaScript and CSS assets with integrity checks, indicating attention to resource security. Hosting appears to be independent or VPS-based with domain registration via GoDaddy. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and basic accessibility features. SEO optimization is basic with appropriate meta tags and Open Graph data. No CMS detected, consistent with Mastodon's architecture. Technical debt appears low, but opportunities exist to enhance security configurations and privacy compliance.
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. 73/100Medium28 findingsView report
  2. 73/100 −5Medium28 findingsView report
  3. 78/100Low22 findingsView report
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