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Is hackthissite.org a Scam? Security Check Results - HackThisSite.org Staff

hackthissite.org Security Report Summary

hackthissite.org received a security score of 68 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Moderate Risk". This report covers HackThisSite.org Staff's website security posture. HackThisSite.org Staff operates in the Technology industry in United States.

HackThisSite.org is a well-established, community-driven platform founded in 2003 that provides a free, safe, and legal environment for ethical hackers and cybersecurity enthusiasts to develop and test their skills through various hacking challenges, CTFs, and educational resources. The platform emphasizes community engagement via IRC, Discord, and forums, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration. Its market position is strong within the ethical hacking education niche, supported by a consistent brand and active open source presence on GitHub. Technically, the website employs a custom PHP-based CMS with jQuery and standard web technologies, hosted with DNS services provided by BuddyNS and registered through eNom with privacy protection. The site is served over HTTPS with a good SSL configuration, though DNSSEC is not enabled. Performance is fast with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed through comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph data. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good baseline practices including HTTPS enforcement, secure login forms, and clientTransferProhibited domain status. However, it lacks advanced security headers and DNSSEC, and no explicit incident response or security policy pages were found. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and a consent mechanism. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Overall, HackThisSite.org presents a trustworthy, professional, and secure platform with a strong focus on ethical hacking education and community involvement. Strategic improvements in DNS security and security header implementation could further enhance its security posture.

The security scan identified 28 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: PHP, jQuery 1.8.1, BuddyNS DNS, HTTPS, CSS, HTML5/XHTML.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and AI-powered business intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

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Is hackthissite.org Safe? Security Analysis for HackThisSite.org Staff

https://hackthissite.org

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TechnologyUnited Statessmall
PHPjQuery 1.8.1BuddyNS DNSHTTPSCSS+1 more
Analyzed 7/7/2025Completed 8:13:53 PM10mo ago
68
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Below Technology avg (72)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domainhackthissite.org
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SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

AI Summary

HackThisSite.org is a well-established, community-driven platform founded in 2003 that provides a free, safe, and legal environment for ethical hackers and cybersecurity enthusiasts to develop and test their skills through various hacking challenges, CTFs, and educational resources. The platform emphasizes community engagement via IRC, Discord, and forums, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration. Its market position is strong within the ethical hacking education niche, supported by a consistent brand and active open source presence on GitHub. Technically, the website employs a custom PHP-based CMS with jQuery and standard web technologies, hosted with DNS services provided by BuddyNS and registered through eNom with privacy protection. The site is served over HTTPS with a good SSL configuration, though DNSSEC is not enabled. Performance is fast with basic mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed through comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph data. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good baseline practices including HTTPS enforcement, secure login forms, and clientTransferProhibited domain status. However, it lacks advanced security headers and DNSSEC, and no explicit incident response or security policy pages were found. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and a consent mechanism. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Overall, HackThisSite.org presents a trustworthy, professional, and secure platform with a strong focus on ethical hacking education and community involvement. Strategic improvements in DNS security and security header implementation could further enhance its security posture.

Detected Technologies

PHPjQuery 1.8.1BuddyNS DNSHTTPSCSSHTML5/XHTML

8 urgent findings need attention

8 high

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Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

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Security Headers

5 findings

55/100

GDPR Compliance

4 findings

53/100

NIS2 Compliance

8 findings

17/100

Email Security

3 findings

82/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

HackThisSite.org operates as a non-profit educational platform targeting ethical hackers, cybersecurity learners, and programming enthusiasts. Its business model centers on providing free hacking challenges and community resources to foster skill development. The platform benefits from a long-standing presence since 2003, which strengthens its credibility and market position. Partnerships with recognized security blogs and service providers enhance its ecosystem. Revenue streams appear limited to donations and merchandise sales via CafePress. The platform's open source approach and active community engagement indicate sustainable growth potential and a strong reputation within the cybersecurity education sector.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website maintains a good security posture with mandatory HTTPS, secure login forms, and domain transfer protection. However, it lacks DNSSEC and advanced HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options, which could mitigate certain attack vectors. No public incident response or security policy pages were found, indicating potential gaps in formal security governance documentation. The absence of a security.txt file limits clear vulnerability disclosure channels. Overall, the site is secure for its purpose but could benefit from enhanced security controls and formalized incident response mechanisms.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

HackThisSite.org Staff

Description:

HackThisSite.org is a free, safe and legal training ground for hackers to test and expand their ethical hacking skills with challenges, CTFs, and more. It is a community devoted to learning and sharing ethical hacking knowledge, technical hobbies, and programming expertise.

Key Services:
CTFs (Capture The Flag competitions)Community forums, IRC, Discord chatEducational articles, blogs, lecturesOpen source projects on GitHub
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
PHPjQuery 1.8.1BuddyNS DNSHTTPSCSSHTML5/XHTML
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

basic

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
80/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Use of secure login forms
  • Cookie consent banner present

Analytics & Tracking

Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
CafePress
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 fully accessible with rich content and community features.

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🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

55/100
Score

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Weak X-XSS-Protection configuration

LOW

Current value: "0"

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "origin-when-cross-origin"

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

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

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📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

82/100
Score

DMARC Partial Enforcement

LOW

DMARC only applies to 25% of messages

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 a mx ip4:137.74.187.96 ip4:137.74.187.97 ip4:137.74.187.98 a:mail.hackthissite.org include:aspmx.googlemail.com include:spf.hackmail.org -all
DNS Lookups:5/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:mail(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine(25% enforcement)
Subdomain Policy:quarantine
Aggregate Reports:8rbjyycl@ag.dmarcian.eu
Forensic Reports:8rbjyycl@fr.dmarcian.eu

🏆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

9 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

85/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
21 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
medium(expired)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:137.74.187.101, 137.74.187.102, 137.74.187.103, 137.74.187.100, 137.74.187.104
Name Servers:
c.ns.buddyns.com
f.ns.buddyns.com
g.ns.buddyns.com
h.ns.buddyns.com
j.ns.buddyns.com
MX Records:
10: aspmx.l.google.com
20: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
20: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
30: aspmx2.googlemail.com
30: aspmx3.googlemail.com
30: aspmx4.googlemail.com
30: aspmx5.googlemail.com
SOA:Serial: 2025032501, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:73ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 a mx ip4:137.74.187.96 ip4:137.74.187.97 ip4:137.74.187.98 a:mail.hackthissite.org include:aspmx.googlemail.com include:spf.hackmail.org -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

How does hackthissite.org compare?

See how hackthissite.org stacks up against similar websites in the same industry.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website uses a custom PHP CMS with jQuery 1.8.1, which is outdated and may pose security risks if not maintained. Hosting details are limited but DNS is managed by BuddyNS, a reputable provider. The site is served over HTTPS with good SSL configuration, ensuring encrypted communications. Performance is fast with basic mobile and accessibility support. SEO is well implemented with comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph data. Technical debt is moderate due to older JavaScript versions and lack of modern frameworks. Opportunities exist to modernize the tech stack and improve security headers to reduce risk and enhance user experience.
Professional PDF & Marketing Data

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PDF Report & Export

PDF download, email delivery, unlock code

39.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domainhackthissite.org
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

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