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Is punchng.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Punch Newspapers Reviews

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Is punchng.com Safe? Security Analysis for Punch Newspapers

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

MediaNigerialarge
JavaScriptGoogle FontsBootstrap 5Cloudflare DNSOneSignal Push Notifications+2 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:06:27 PM
63
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Punch Newspapers is a well-established Nigerian media company providing breaking news, entertainment, sports, business, and political coverage. The website serves a broad general audience interested in Nigerian and international news. It holds a strong market position as one of Nigeria's most widely read newspapers. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern frameworks like Bootstrap and uses Cloudflare DNS and monitoring tools such as New Relic. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly with structured data and social media integration. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS and domain protection statuses, but lacks DNSSEC and published security policies. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the site is professional and trustworthy but could improve transparency and compliance.

Detected Technologies

JavaScriptGoogle FontsBootstrap 5Cloudflare DNSOneSignal Push NotificationsGoogle AdsenseNew Relic monitoring

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Punch Newspapers operates in the media sector with a large audience in Nigeria. Its business model revolves around news publishing and digital content delivery, monetized through advertising networks like Google Adsense and Amazon Ads. The company leverages push notifications via OneSignal to engage users. The domain age and branding consistency support its credibility. The site targets general news consumers and maintains a consistent brand presence. No parent or subsidiary companies were identified. The company benefits from a strong digital presence but lacks explicit contact and compliance disclosures on the website.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS with valid SSL and uses domain status locks to prevent unauthorized changes. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which is a missed opportunity for DNS security enhancement. No explicit security policies, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are published, which limits transparency. Security headers were not detected in the provided content, suggesting room for improvement. The site uses reputable third-party services for analytics and monitoring but should implement stronger privacy and security disclosures to align with best practices and regulatory requirements.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Punch Newspapers

Description:

Punch Newspapers homepage - Breaking News, Nigerian News, Nigerian newspapers, Entertainment, Videos, Sports, Business and Politics

Key Services:
News publishingEntertainment contentSports coverageBusiness newsPolitical news
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScriptGoogle FontsBootstrap 5Cloudflare DNSOneSignal Push NotificationsGoogle AdsenseNew Relic monitoring
Frameworks:
Bootstrap
Platforms:
WordPress
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Domain status clientDeleteProhibited and clientTransferProhibited

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics (implied via GTM)
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google AdsenseAmazon Ads
Tracking Pixels:
Google Analytics (implied)
Marketing Tools:
OneSignal Push Notifications
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a professional Nigerian news media outlet

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

15/100
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

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

70/100
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

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

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

70/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

No DMARC reporting

LOW

DMARC aggregate reports not configured

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:zoho.com ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none

🏆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 40 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:punchng.com
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:10/15/2025 (40 days)
SANs:punchng.com, *.punchng.com

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
22 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(948 days)
Protection Level
moderateDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:104.20.42.73, 172.66.167.143
AAAA Records:2606:4700:10::ac42:a78f, 2606:4700:10::6814:2a49
Name Servers:
dina.ns.cloudflare.com
simon.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
10: mx.zoho.com
20: mx2.zoho.com
50: mx3.zoho.com
SOA:Serial: 2382169604, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:113ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:zoho.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 WordPress 6.8 with Bootstrap 5 for responsive design and uses Google Fonts for typography. It integrates advertising via Google Adsense and Amazon Ads, and push notifications through OneSignal. Monitoring and performance tracking are handled by New Relic. The site is hosted with DNS managed by Cloudflare and registered via Squarespace Domains II LLC. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO metadata including Open Graph and JSON-LD structured data. Accessibility features are basic but present. The site lacks DNSSEC and some security headers, which are recommended for improved security posture.
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