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Is affinitygrouppublishing.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Newsmatics Inc. dba Affinity Group Publishing Reviews

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Is affinitygrouppublishing.com Safe? Security Analysis for Newsmatics Inc. dba Affinity Group Publishing

Check if affinitygrouppublishing.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

MediaN/amedium
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsDay.jsJavaScript ES ModulesCSS+1 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 9:54:17 AM
62
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Affinity Group Publishing operates as a global media publishing network under Newsmatics Inc., offering a broad portfolio of over 3,900 news publications worldwide. The company focuses on supporting local journalism and filling news deserts with niche and regional news content. Their market position is that of a significant global news network with a specialized focus on affinity groups and local news coverage. Technically, the website employs modern JavaScript modules, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager for tracking and analytics, with a responsive design optimized for mobile devices. The site is well-structured with clear navigation and professional content presentation. Security-wise, the website enforces HTTPS and provides cookie consent mechanisms, but lacks visible security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure information, which are areas for improvement. The absence of WHOIS registration data is a notable anomaly that impacts trust and legitimacy assessments. Overall, the website is functional, professional, and compliant with privacy regulations but would benefit from enhanced transparency and security documentation.

Detected Technologies

Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsDay.jsJavaScript ES ModulesCSSHTML5

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Affinity Group Publishing's business model centers on media publishing with a global footprint, targeting readers interested in local and niche news topics. Their competitive advantage lies in the extensive network of publications and focus on underserved news markets. Revenue streams likely include advertising and sponsored content across their multiple news sites. The company maintains a professional online presence with clear contact channels and legal policies, supporting credibility. Partnerships appear to be primarily internal within their network of publications. Growth indicators include a large portfolio of sites and a focus on emerging news deserts. Strategic observations suggest opportunities to strengthen security posture and WHOIS transparency to enhance trust.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (1)

+1202335****

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent implemented, indicating awareness of privacy and security best practices. However, the lack of published security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms represents compliance gaps and potential risk areas. No security headers were detected in the provided data, and no known vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found. The absence of a security.txt file or similar disclosure reduces transparency for security researchers. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a media website but could be significantly improved by adopting formal security policies and incident response readiness.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and compliance.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Newsmatics Inc. dba Affinity Group Publishing

Description:

Affinity Group Publishing is a global publishing network presenting news from Boston to Bangladesh. Their news sites cover all countries and include 3,900+ publications. They support local journalism and focus on niche topics and filling news deserts.

Key Services:
Publishing news publicationsSupporting local journalismProviding news coverage by topics, regions, countries, and US states
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsDay.jsJavaScript ES ModulesCSSHTML5
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner present

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag Manager
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:good
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:moderate

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

50/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

53/100
Score

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

55/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DMARC reporting

LOW

DMARC aggregate reports not configured

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 mx ip4:173.203.96.64 ip4:173.203.97.182 ip4:67.207.158.207 ip4:162.209.89.241 a:mail.ein.cz a:mail2.ein.cz include:21775002.spf06.hubspotemail.net ~all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:~all
DMARC Details
Policy:none

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

67/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

2 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

DNS Records

A Records:52.15.235.213
Name Servers:
ans.newsmatics.comDNS only
ns.newsmatics.comDNS only
ns3.newsmatics.comDNS only
ns5.newsmatics.comDNS only
MX Records:
10: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
1: aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 mx ip4:173.203.96.64 ip4:173.203.97.182 ip4:67.207.158.207 ip4:162.209.89.241 a:mail.ein.cz a:mail2.ein.cz include:21775002.spf06.hubspotemail.net ~all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website uses modern web technologies including ES modules, Google Tag Manager, and Google Analytics for tracking. The HTML and CSS are valid and the site is mobile responsive with good navigation clarity. Performance is moderate, with potential for optimization. No CMS or hosting provider information was detected. The technical stack supports a scalable publishing platform but lacks advanced security headers and formalized security infrastructure. There is no evidence of legacy or vulnerable libraries. Technical debt appears low, but improvements in security and accessibility would enhance overall quality and reduce operational risks.
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