Is poynter.org Safe? Security Analysis for The Poynter Institute
Check if poynter.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
The Poynter Institute is a globally recognized nonprofit media institute dedicated to strengthening democracy through journalism ethics, fact-checking, and media literacy training. It operates several subsidiaries and partner initiatives including the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), MediaWise, and PolitiFact, positioning itself as a leader in media education and ethical journalism. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand image with a focus on educational content and resources for journalists and the public. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including WooCommerce for e-commerce, LearnDash for LMS functionality, and various analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Chartbeat, and Hotjar. The site is mobile-optimized and uses HTTPS, indicating a secure and user-friendly infrastructure. However, some security headers and privacy compliance elements like explicit privacy and cookie policies are not clearly visible in the provided content. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices with HTTPS enforcement and secure form handling, but could improve by implementing additional security headers and publishing comprehensive privacy and cookie policies. No vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected in the content. WHOIS data is unavailable due to query failure or privacy protection, which is common and justified for nonprofit organizations. Overall, the Poynter Institute website is a high-quality, trustworthy platform with strong business credibility and a solid technical foundation. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance and security headers would further enhance its security posture and user trust.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
Poynter Institute holds a strong market position as a nonprofit leader in journalism education and media ethics. Its business model revolves around providing training, fact-checking services, and resources to journalists and the public, supported by donations and partnerships. The presence of multiple subsidiaries and partner sites indicates a broad ecosystem that enhances its reach and influence. The website's content and structure support its mission effectively, targeting media professionals and citizens interested in media literacy. The use of modern web technologies and analytics tools suggests a mature digital presence, although some compliance aspects could be strengthened.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enabled and secure form implementations. The use of Google reCAPTCHA and nonce tokens in forms adds protection against automated abuse. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options represents an area for improvement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The lack of visible privacy and cookie policies may pose compliance risks under GDPR and similar regulations. Incident response and security policy information are not publicly available, which could be enhanced to improve transparency and readiness.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Implement and enforce Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options headers to strengthen security.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
The Poynter Institute
Poynter is a nonprofit media institute and newsroom that provides fact-checking, media literacy and journalism ethics training to citizens and journalists in service to democracy.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
moderate
good
basic
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Use of Google reCAPTCHA
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Secure forms with nonce tokens
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing Strict-Transport-Security header
HIGHForces HTTPS connections
Missing X-Frame-Options header
HIGHPrevents clickjacking attacks
Missing X-Content-Type-Options header
MEDIUMPrevents MIME type sniffing
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-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
No Cookie Policy found
HIGHGDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant
MEDIUMPrivacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements
GDPR Compliance Analysis
🛡️NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.
NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive
No information security framework found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures
No vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
No security policy documentation found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management
No incident response procedures found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans
No security contact information
HIGHNIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels
No vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
No NIS2 reference found
LOWConsider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
DMARC not enforcing
MEDIUMDMARC policy is set to "none"
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
No MTA-STS Policy
MEDIUMMTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery
No TLS-RPT Record
LOWTLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues
SPF Details
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Weak Protocols Supported
HIGHServer supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1
OCSP Stapling Not Enabled
LOWOCSP stapling improves performance and privacy
Certificate Transparency Not Implemented
LOWCertificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs
SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days
MEDIUMSSL certificate expires in 64 days
Weak SSL Key Length
HIGHSSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak
Mixed Content Detected
MEDIUM1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Protocol Support
OCSP Status
📊DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment.
DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled
LOWDomain can be deleted without additional verification
DMARC Policy Set to None
LOWDMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy
Domain Registration Details
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
SPF Analysis
⚡Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis.
Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis
Good Network Security Posture
LOWNo unnecessary services detected on common risky ports
🔧Technical Analysis
Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.
Technical Analysis
Comprehensive security assessment findings