Is scientificamerican.com Safe? Security Analysis for Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.
Check if scientificamerican.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
Scientific American is a venerable and highly reputable science media publication, operating under Springer Nature America, Inc. Founded in 1845, it provides authoritative science and technology news, research insights, and educational content to a broad audience including academics, researchers, and science enthusiasts. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence with a modern React-based tech stack, fast performance, and excellent mobile optimization. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, supported by a consent management platform. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and security headers, though explicit security policies and incident response information are absent. WHOIS data is missing, which is unusual and warrants further verification, but the overall brand trust and content quality mitigate this concern. Strategic recommendations include publishing security policies, adding vulnerability disclosure, and verifying domain registration details.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
Scientific American holds a strong market position as a leading science media brand with a subscription-based business model supplemented by advertising. Its parent company Springer Nature provides additional credibility and resources. The target audience spans general public interested in science, researchers, and educators. The company leverages partnerships with major social media platforms and uses advanced marketing and analytics tools. Growth indicators include a rich content archive, special editions, podcasts, and interactive games. The business ecosystem is well integrated with Springer Nature's publishing network.
Extracted Contact Information
Marketing Intelligence Data
Email Addresses (2)
Physical Addresses (1)
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
The website employs HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and implements multiple security headers, indicating a high security maturity level. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms represents a compliance gap. The use of third-party scripts like Google Tag Manager and Chargebee is standard but requires ongoing monitoring for vulnerabilities. Overall, the security posture is robust but could be enhanced by transparency and formalized incident response processes.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and user trust.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.
Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- Security headers present
- No exposed sensitive data in HTML
- Secure cookie consent mechanism
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
Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration
LOWCurrent value: "max-age=600; includeSubDomains"
Missing X-Frame-Options header
HIGHPrevents clickjacking attacks
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
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
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 business continuity planning found
MEDIUMNIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity
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 DKIM record found
MEDIUMDKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails
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
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 73 days
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
Unregistered MX Record
HIGHMX record points to unregistered domain: null.scientificamerican.com
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
DMARC Policy Set to None
LOWDMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy
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