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Is theguardian.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Guardian Media Group Reviews

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Is theguardian.com Safe? Security Analysis for Guardian Media Group

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

MediaUnited Kingdomlarge
JavaScriptReact (implied by modern JS modules)Prebid.js (header bidding)Google DoubleClick for PublishersBraze (marketing automation)+3 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:07:36 PM
82
Security Score
LOW RISK

AI Summary

The Guardian is a globally recognized news media organization providing comprehensive coverage of news, sport, business, and opinion. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence with a modern technology stack including React, header bidding for advertising, and advanced analytics tools. Privacy and cookie policies are well established and GDPR compliant, reflecting a strong commitment to user data protection. Security posture is robust with HTTPS enforced and use of security best practices, although explicit security policies and incident response details are not publicly disclosed. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-optimized for performance and accessibility.

Detected Technologies

JavaScriptReact (implied by modern JS modules)Prebid.js (header bidding)Google DoubleClick for PublishersBraze (marketing automation)Comscore (analytics)Sentry (error tracking)Google Recaptcha

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The Guardian operates primarily in the media sector, targeting a broad general audience interested in liberal and international news coverage. Its business model combines advertising revenue with subscription and membership services. The company benefits from a strong brand reputation and extensive digital reach. Partnerships with major ad networks and analytics providers support monetization and audience insights. The absence of WHOIS data is likely due to privacy or registry restrictions rather than suspicious activity. The Guardian's market position is that of a leading UK and international news publisher with a large user base and consistent content quality.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and uses multiple security headers, indicating a good security baseline. Use of Google Recaptcha and Sentry for error tracking further enhance security. However, the lack of publicly available security policies, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure mechanisms suggests room for improvement in transparency and security maturity. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. Compliance with GDPR is evident through privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced communication of security governance.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Guardian Media Group

Description:

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

Key Services:
News publishingOpinion and analysisDigital media content
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScriptReact (implied by modern JS modules)Prebid.js (header bidding)Google DoubleClick for PublishersBraze (marketing automation)Comscore (analytics)Sentry (error tracking)Google Recaptcha
Frameworks:
ReactPrebid.js
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google Recaptcha for forms
  • Error tracking with Sentry
  • Consent management for cookies

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
ComscoreOphanGoogle Analytics (implied)
Tracking Level:extensive
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Google DoubleClickPrebid.jsCriteoAppNexusMagniteTrustXPermutiveTheTradeDeskTripleLiftPubmaticIndexExchangeOpenXKargoXaxisOzone
Tracking Pixels:
ComscoreOphan
Marketing Tools:
Braze
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

The website is a major international news publisher with a strong digital presence.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

90/100
Score

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "no-referrer-when-downgrade"

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

85/100
Score

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

GDPR Compliance Analysis

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

🛡️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

98/100
Score

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

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.google.com include:spf_c.oraclecloud.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf1.theguardian.com ip4:199.255.192.0/22 ip4:199.127.232.0/22 ip4:54.240.0.0/18 ip4:69.169.224.0/20 ip4:23.249.208.0/20 ip4:23.251.224.0/19 ip4:76.223.176.0 /20 ip4:54.240.64.0/18 ip4:76.223.128.0/19 ip4:216.221.160.0/19 ip4:206.55.144.0/20 ip4:24.110.64.0/18 -all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1416-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:dmarcreporting@theguardian.com
MTA-STS Details
Mode:testing
Max Age:7 days

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

95/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 42 days

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:theguardian.com
Issuer:GlobalSign Atlas R3 DV TLS CA 2024 Q3
Valid Until:10/18/2025 (42 days)
SANs:theguardian.com, *.advertising.theguardian.com, *.code.dev-guardianapis.com +32 more

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:151.101.193.111, 151.101.65.111, 151.101.129.111, 151.101.1.111
AAAA Records:2a04:4e42::367, 2a04:4e42:200::367, 2a04:4e42:400::367, 2a04:4e42:600::367
Name Servers:
dns1.p04.nsone.netDNS only
dns2.p04.nsone.netDNS only
dns3.p04.nsone.netDNS only
dns4.p04.nsone.netDNS only
ns01.theguardiandns.comDNS only
ns02.theguardiandns.comDNS only
ns03.theguardiandns.comDNS only
ns04.theguardiandns.comDNS only
MX Records:
10: aspmx.l.google.com
30: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
30: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com
20: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
20: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
SOA:Serial: 1648114615, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:44ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf_c.oraclecloud.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf1.theguardian.com ip4:199.255.192.0/22 ip4:199.127.232.0/22 ip4:54.240.0.0/18 ip4:69.169.224.0/20 ip4:23.249.208.0/20 ip4:23.251.224.0/19 ip4:76.223.176.0 /20 ip4:54.240.64.0/18 ip4:76.223.128.0/19 ip4:216.221.160.0/19 ip4:206.55.144.0/20 ip4:24.110.64.0/18 -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 Guardian's website uses a modern, modular JavaScript framework likely based on React, with advanced advertising technologies such as Prebid.js and multiple header bidding partners. The site is optimized for performance with preconnect and preload hints, and uses a comprehensive font strategy for branding consistency. Accessibility and SEO best practices are implemented, including meta tags and responsive design. The hosting provider and CMS are not explicitly identified but the infrastructure supports high traffic and complex content delivery. Technical risks are minimal, with no critical issues detected. Opportunities exist to improve documentation of technical security controls and compliance.
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