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Is newspack.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Newspack Reviews

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Is newspack.com Safe? Security Analysis for Newspack

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

MediaN/amedium
WordPressYoast SEO pluginGoogle AnalyticsHubSpot scriptsreCAPTCHA+3 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 4:06:49 AM
72
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Newspack is a mature, well-established platform designed to empower news organizations with tools for publishing, audience engagement, and monetization. Supported by major industry players such as WordPress.com, Google News Initiative, Knight Foundation, and The Lenfest Institute, it occupies a trusted niche in the media technology sector. The platform offers a comprehensive suite of services including publishing, audience management, advertising solutions, migration assistance, performance optimization, and analytics bundles. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with excellent content quality and user experience. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern plugins and integrations such as Yoast SEO, HubSpot, and Google Analytics. Hosting is managed by Automattic, ensuring reliable infrastructure. The site is optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, accessibility, and SEO. Security practices include HTTPS enforcement, domain locking, and bot protection via reCAPTCHA. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and no explicit security or incident response policies are published. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good maturity with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is strong, featuring a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism aligned with GDPR requirements. Business credibility is supported by long domain tenure, consistent WHOIS data, and trust signals such as testimonials and reputable partnerships. Overall, Newspack presents a low-risk profile with strong technical and business foundations. Strategic recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, publishing formal security and incident response policies, and considering a vulnerability disclosure program to further enhance trust and security posture.

Detected Technologies

WordPressYoast SEO pluginGoogle AnalyticsHubSpot scriptsreCAPTCHAPrismEverlit pluginComplianz GDPR plugin

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Newspack is positioned as an important player in the media technology sector, targeting news organizations seeking affordable and flexible publishing solutions. Its business model is SaaS-based, offering integrated tools for content publishing, audience engagement, advertising, and analytics. The platform benefits from strategic partnerships with WordPress.com and prominent industry foundations, enhancing its market credibility and reach. Revenue streams likely include subscription fees and service packages. The target customer segment includes small to medium-sized news publishers aiming to modernize their digital presence. Growth indicators include active case studies and publisher awards showcased on the site. The partnership ecosystem is robust, involving technology providers and funding organizations. Operationally, Newspack emphasizes ease of use and technical support, appealing to publishers with limited technical expertise.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

Newspack exhibits a solid security posture with mandatory HTTPS, domain registration protections, and bot mitigation via reCAPTCHA. The presence of a detailed cookie consent banner indicates attention to privacy regulations. However, the absence of DNSSEC and a publicly available security policy or incident response contact are gaps that could be addressed. No vulnerabilities or security incidents are evident from the site content or WHOIS data. The site does not expose sensitive information or use outdated libraries. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by formalizing security governance and enhancing DNS security.

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:

Newspack

Description:

Newspack gives news organizations the tools to publish great stories, develop a loyal audience, and drive revenue. All at a surprisingly affordable price. A project of WordPress.com, with support from the Google News Initiative, the Knight Foundation, and The Lenfest Institute.

Key Services:
Publishing platformAudience managementAdvertising and sponsorship toolsMigration servicesPerformance optimizationAnalytics bundle
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressYoast SEO pluginGoogle AnalyticsHubSpot scriptsreCAPTCHAPrismEverlit pluginComplianz GDPR plugin
Frameworks:
WordPress Block EditorYoast SEO
Platforms:
WordPress.com
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

excellent

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain locked with clientDeleteProhibited and clientTransferProhibited
  • Use of reCAPTCHA for bot protection
  • Cookie consent banner with granular categories

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsHubSpot AnalyticsJetpack Stats
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
HubSpot AnalyticsJetpack Stats
Marketing Tools:
HubSpotComplianz GDPR Cookie Consent
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 fully accessible with rich content and professional design.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

30/100
Score

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

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

95/100
Score

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

GDPR Compliance Analysis

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

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

47/100
Score

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

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:_spf.automattic.com include:mail.zendesk.com -all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:0bqp2jnw@ag.dmarcian.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

52/100
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

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 64 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

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

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DNS Records

A Records:192.0.78.25, 192.0.78.24
Name Servers:
ns1.automattic.comDNS only
ns2.automattic.comDNS only
ns3.automattic.comDNS only
ns4.automattic.comDNS only
MX Records:
10: mx1.dfw.automattic.com
10: mx2.ams.automattic.com
SOA:Serial: 2025041603, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:50ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.automattic.com include:mail.zendesk.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 is built on a modern WordPress platform with a well-maintained tech stack including Yoast SEO, HubSpot, Google Analytics, and reCAPTCHA. Hosting is provided by Automattic, ensuring reliable infrastructure. The site demonstrates fast performance, excellent mobile optimization, and good accessibility features. SEO is well implemented with canonical tags, Open Graph metadata, and structured JSON-LD data. The use of multiple analytics and marketing tools is balanced with privacy compliance mechanisms. Technical risks are minimal, with no signs of deprecated technologies or broken elements. Opportunities exist to further modernize DNS security and formalize security documentation.
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