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Is apnews.com a Scam? Security Check Results - AP News Reviews

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Is apnews.com Safe? Security Analysis for AP News

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

MediaUnited Stateslarge
jwplayerGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsCloudflare DNSOneSignal+8 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:10:29 PM
71
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

AP News is a globally recognized independent news agency providing breaking news, headlines, and multimedia content. The website serves a broad general audience with comprehensive news coverage across multiple sectors and regions. It operates under the parent company The Associated Press, with a long-established domain dating back to 1991, reflecting its authoritative market position. The site offers newsletters, quizzes, and topical hubs, supporting a diverse content strategy.

Detected Technologies

jwplayerGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsCloudflare DNSOneSignalTaboolaZephrFreestarPermutiveSailthruAdmiralUsableNetOptimizely

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

AP News holds a leading position in the media industry as a trusted news source. Its business model centers on news content creation and distribution, monetized through advertising partnerships with major ad networks and marketing platforms. The site targets a global audience interested in timely and reliable news. Its partnership ecosystem includes major advertising and analytics providers, enhancing revenue streams and audience insights. The brand consistency and content quality support strong user trust and engagement.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement, clientTransferProhibited domain status, and use of access control frameworks like Zephr. It integrates reCAPTCHA and employs multiple security and marketing scripts responsibly. However, it lacks explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and DNSSEC, which are areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the security measures are robust but could benefit from enhanced transparency and DNS security.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish clear and accessible privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms to improve compliance.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

AP News

Description:

Read the latest headlines, breaking news, and videos at APNews.com, the definitive source for independent journalism from every corner of the globe.

Key Services:
news reportingvideo contentnewslettersquizzes
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jwplayerGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsCloudflare DNSOneSignalTaboolaZephrFreestarPermutiveSailthruAdmiralUsableNetOptimizely
Frameworks:
Zephr (access control)Google Tag Manager
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • clientTransferProhibited domain status
  • no exposed credentials in HTML
  • use of reCAPTCHA
  • access control via Zephr
  • cookie consent scripts present

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsPermutiveScorecardResearch
Tracking Level:extensive
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
FreestarPubMaticTaboolaCriteo
Tracking Pixels:
ScorecardResearchPermutiveFacebook SDK
Marketing Tools:
SailthruOptimizelyZephrAdmiral
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a major global news provider with extensive content and multimedia.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

45/100
Score

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

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

70/100
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

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

85/100
Score

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 include:%{i}._ip.%{h}._ehlo.%{d}._spf.vali.email ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:selector2(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:dmarc_agg@vali.email

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

75/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 83 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:apnews.com
Issuer:E8
Valid Until:11/27/2025 (83 days)
SANs:*.apnews.com, apnews.com

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

90/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

DNS Records

A Records:104.16.22.8, 104.16.23.8
AAAA Records:2606:4700::6810:1708, 2606:4700::6810:1608
Name Servers:
beau.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
edna.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
MX Records:
0: apnews-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
SOA:Serial: 2382341558, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:83ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:%{i}._ip.%{h}._ehlo.%{d}._spf.vali.email ~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 a modern technology stack including JW Player for video, Google Tag Manager for analytics, Zephr for access control, and multiple advertising and marketing platforms. It is hosted with Cloudflare DNS and uses Network Solutions as registrar. The site is mobile optimized with good accessibility and SEO practices. Performance is moderate due to multiple third-party scripts but overall user experience is professional and responsive. The CMS appears to be Brightspot, a known enterprise content platform. Technical risks are low but monitoring third-party dependencies is advised.
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