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Is gulf-times.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Gulf Times Reviews

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Is gulf-times.com Safe? Security Analysis for Gulf Times

Check if gulf-times.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

MediaQatarlarge
jQuery 3.5.1Google Analytics (gtag.js)Matomo AnalyticsGoogle Publisher Tags (GPT) for adsCustom CSS+1 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:05:24 PM
56
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Gulf Times is a leading English daily newspaper based in Qatar, providing comprehensive local and international news coverage. It holds a strong market position as Qatar's top-selling English newspaper, targeting English-speaking residents and readers interested in regional and global affairs. The business model revolves around digital news publishing, subscription services, and advertising revenue. The website demonstrates a professional design with consistent branding and high-quality content, supported by active social media channels and advertising partnerships.

Detected Technologies

jQuery 3.5.1Google Analytics (gtag.js)Matomo AnalyticsGoogle Publisher Tags (GPT) for adsCustom CSSHTML5

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The company operates primarily in the media sector, focusing on news dissemination in English for the Qatari market and beyond. Its competitive advantage lies in its established brand and extensive news coverage. Revenue streams include digital subscriptions and advertising managed through Google Ad Manager. The target audience includes residents, expatriates, and international readers interested in Qatar and regional news. The website's partnership with epaper.gulf-times.com indicates a digital extension of its print offerings. Growth indicators include active content updates and multimedia integration.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website uses HTTPS and includes tracking via Google Analytics and Matomo, indicating a moderate level of digital maturity. However, the absence of explicit security headers and privacy policies suggests room for improvement in security and compliance. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The lack of WHOIS data reduces transparency but does not necessarily indicate malicious intent. Overall, the security posture is adequate but would benefit from enhanced security controls and compliance documentation.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear user consent mechanisms to improve GDPR compliance.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Gulf Times

Description:

Gulf Times - Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper published in Qatar and provide the latest information locally and internationally. Homepage

Key Services:
News publishingDigital newspaperClassifiedsSubscription services
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
jQuery 3.5.1Google Analytics (gtag.js)Matomo AnalyticsGoogle Publisher Tags (GPT) for adsCustom CSSHTML5
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
70/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS usage implied by URLs
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsMatomo
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google Ad Manager
Tracking Pixels:
Matomo
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a major English daily newspaper for Qatar with extensive news content

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

20/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

35/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

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

Third-party services without privacy policy

HIGH

Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google APIs, Google Ads

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% 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

60/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

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 include:_spf.prod.hydra.sophos.com include:emailsrvr.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spfa.mailendo.com ~all
DNS Lookups:5/10
Policy:~all
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:it-services@raya.com

🏆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 80 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:gulf-times.com
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:11/25/2025 (80 days)
SANs:gulf-times.com, *.gulf-times.com

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

65/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Invalid SPF Record

MEDIUM

SPF record syntax is invalid

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
29 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(1049 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:104.26.0.248, 104.26.1.248, 172.67.74.153
AAAA Records:2606:4700:20::681a:f8, 2606:4700:20::ac43:4a99, 2606:4700:20::681a:1f8
Name Servers:
drake.ns.cloudflare.com
princess.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
0: mx-01-us-west-2.prod.hydra.sophos.com
7: mx-02-us-west-2.prod.hydra.sophos.com
SOA:Serial: 2381849081, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:176ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.prod.hydra.sophos.com include:emailsrvr.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spfa.mailendo.com ~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 employs a modern tech stack including jQuery 3.5.1, Google Analytics, Matomo, and Google Publisher Tags for advertising. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design and uses custom CSS for styling. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. No CMS was explicitly detected from the HTML content. Hosting provider details are not available. SEO practices are good with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional news platform but could benefit from modernization and enhanced security configurations.
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