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Is independent.co.uk a Scam? Security Check Results - The Independent

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Is independent.co.uk Safe? Security Analysis for The Independent

https://independent.co.uk

Check if independent.co.uk is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

MediaUnited Kingdomlarge
ReactGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics 4Prebid.jsDoubleClick for Publishers+5 more
Analyzed 10/30/2025Completed 11:12:08 AM
79
Security Score
LOW RISK
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Domainindependent.co.uk
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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

The Independent is a well-established UK-based digital news publisher providing breaking news, commentary, and features to a broad general audience. The website serves as the primary digital platform for the brand, offer… Unlock the full Guard report to read the complete analysis.

Detected Technologies

ReactGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics 4Prebid.jsDoubleClick for PublishersSourcepoint CMPPiano subscription platformTaboolaBrazeJW Player
Continuous monitoring

Keep independent.co.uk under constant watch

Guard tracks your live infrastructure daily: certificate expiry, DNS & mail authentication drift, uptime changes, subdomain inventory, and unexpected tracker or content shifts. A full timeline captures every diff so you can prove remediation and spot regressions instantly.

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

1 finding

95/100

GDPR Compliance

1 finding

85/100

NIS2 Compliance

8 findings

17/100

Email Security

1 finding

95/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Snapshot shown below. Unlock the full AI report for complete market insights, audience profiling, and step-by-step recommendations.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The Independent operates in the media sector with a focus on digital news publishing. Its business model combines free content with premium subscription offerings, supported by a diverse advertising ecosystem involving multiple ad networks and tracking technologies. The brand targets a general audience interested in UK and international news, politics, business, science, and culture. The presence of international editions indicates strategic market expansion and audience diversification. The company benefits from strong brand recognition and consistent branding across platforms. Partnerships with major advertising and marketing platforms enhance monetization capabilities. The lack of direct contact information on the homepage suggests a focus on digital engagement rather than direct customer service. The website's technical sophistication and compliance with privacy regulations position it well for sustainable growth in the competitive digital media landscape.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The Independent's website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers implemented, including Content Security Policy and Strict-Transport-Security. The use of a consent management platform ensures GDPR compliance and user privacy protection. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. However, there is no publicly visible security policy or incident response contact information, which could be improved to enhance transparency and readiness. The extensive use of third-party scripts and ad networks introduces potential risk vectors, necessitating regular security audits and monitoring. Overall, the site maintains good security hygiene appropriate for a high-profile media outlet, but could benefit from publishing explicit security policies and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

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Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

A preview of your strategic observations is visible. Upgrade to unlock the full competitive positioning, trust signals, and branding checklist.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

The Independent

Description:

The latest breaking news, comment and features from The Independent.

Key Services:
news reportingdigital journalismpremium content subscription
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
ReactGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics 4Prebid.jsDoubleClick for PublishersSourcepoint CMPPiano subscription platformTaboolaBrazeJW Player
Frameworks:
React
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Content Security Policy present
  • Use of modern JavaScript frameworks
  • Consent management platform for GDPR compliance

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics 4ChartbeatBrazeDotMetrics
Tracking Level:extensive
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
DoubleClickIndex ExchangePubmaticRubiconXandrOzone ProjectSeedtagEpsilonCollectiveAd You Like33AcrossImprove DigitalMinute MediaMediagridKargoJWPGumGumInvibesCriteo
Tracking Pixels:
BrazeDotMetricsLiveRampTaboolaSourcepoint CMP
Marketing Tools:
BrazePianoTaboolaSourcepoint CMP
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a major UK news publisher with international editions

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Some header findings are shown. Unlock to see the full checklist, impacted endpoints, and remediation guidance.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

95/100
Score

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "no-referrer-when-downgrade" Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

Preview of GDPR checkpoints is visible. Unlock to reveal full evidence, policy excerpts, and DPIA guidance.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

85/100
Score

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

GDPR Compliance Analysis

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

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

You can see headline NIS2 checks. Upgrade to access the full control mapping, severity breakdown, and remediation plan.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

📧Email Security

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

Quick view of email authentication checks is provided. Unlock to uncover full DNS evidence, record diffs, and fix scripts.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

95/100
Score

Complex SPF record

LOW

Too many include statements can cause lookup limits Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

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.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.google.com include:mail.zendesk.com include:amazonses.com include:spf.mandrillapp.com ip4:62.189.214.128/25 ip4:217.10.137.0/26 ip4:154.47.66.0/24 ip4:54.77.160.217 ip4:195.234.243.112 ip4:206.155.87. 84 ip4:103.13.71.86 -all
DNS Lookups:5/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine
Aggregate Reports:dmarc_a@dmgmedia.co.uk
MTA-STS Details

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

This is a teaser of the TLS audit. Unlock to view certificate chains, cipher support tables, and remediation steps.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

77/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1 Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

Unlock the full DNS posture audit to reveal misconfigurations, zone records, and actionable fixes.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
29 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(412 days)
Protection Level
none
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:151.101.1.184, 151.101.65.184, 151.101.129.184, 151.101.193.184
Name Servers:
lars.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
rihana.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
MX Records:
1: smtp.google.com
SOA:Serial: 2387299928, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:44ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.google.com include:mail.zendesk.com include:amazonses.com include:spf.mandrillapp.com ip4:62.189.214.128/25 ip4:217.10.137.0/26 ip4:154.47.66.0/24 ip4:54.77.160.217 ip4:195.234.243.112 ip4:206.155.87. 84 ip4:103.13.71.86 -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

See a glimpse of exposed services. Unlock to access full port inventories, CVE lookups, and mitigation priorities.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports Unlock the full report to read the complete fix.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Unlock to view the complete technical breakdown, stack fingerprinting, and hardening checklist.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

Unlock the full Guard report to review the complete technical breakdown and AI recommendations.
⭐ Verified Community Reviews

What others say about independent.co.uk

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