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Security report for absence.io

absence.io GmbH · Technology · Germany

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

absence.io GmbH is a medium-sized technology company based in Germany specializing in SaaS solutions for absence management, time tracking, digital personnel files, and expense management. The company serves over 2,500 companies and 100,000 users, positioning itself as a reliable and trusted provider in the HR software market. Their platform supports multiple languages and integrates with major services like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Slack, enhancing usability and enterprise adoption. The website demonstrates a strong brand presence with multiple trust signals including ISO certification and positive customer testimonials. Technically, absence.io uses TYPO3 CMS with a modern JavaScript stack including jQuery, Bootstrap, and Swiper for UI components. Hosting is on DigitalOcean with DNS managed via AWS Route53. The site supports TLS 1.3 and 1.2 but lacks advanced SSL features like HSTS and OCSP stapling. Cookie consent is managed via Usercentrics CMP, and analytics are extensive using HubSpot, Google Analytics, and Crazy Egg. Performance is moderate to slow, likely due to large page size and resource count. Security posture is solid with ISO-certified servers, daily backups, SPF and DMARC email protections, and SSL encryption. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and CAA records are malformed. No public vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file was found. Privacy policies and terms of service are present and GDPR compliant. Overall, the company demonstrates a mature security and compliance stance but could improve SSL and DNS security features. Strategically, absence.io is well positioned in the HR SaaS market with a comprehensive product suite and strong customer trust. Continued investment in security hardening and performance optimization will enhance their competitive edge and customer confidence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
25/ 100 · Critical
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching absence.io

This scan found 21 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
77
Security headers
50
Email security
80
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
25
Average
70

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

absence.io operates in the HR technology sector, targeting medium-sized companies needing efficient absence and time management tools. Their SaaS model includes free trials and demos, facilitating customer acquisition. The company leverages partnerships with major cloud providers and integrates with popular productivity tools, enhancing stickiness and ecosystem value. Their marketing strategy includes extensive use of analytics, retargeting, and affiliate tracking, indicating a data-driven growth approach. The presence of multiple trust badges and certifications supports a premium market positioning. Growth indicators include a large user base and thousands of companies served. The company also invests in content marketing and multi-language support to broaden market reach. Recruitment efforts are visible via a dedicated career domain. Overall, absence.io shows a mature business model with strong operational and marketing capabilities.

Security posture

absence.io demonstrates a mature security posture with ISO-certified servers located in Germany, daily backups, and SSL encryption protecting data in transit. Email security is enforced with valid SPF and DMARC policies set to quarantine, reducing phishing risks. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which could expose DNS queries to spoofing. The SSL configuration supports modern protocols TLS 1.3 and 1.2 but lacks HSTS and OCSP stapling, which are recommended for enhanced security and performance. The absence of a security.txt file or public vulnerability disclosure policy limits transparency for security researchers. Cookie consent is managed via a reputable CMP (Usercentrics), supporting GDPR compliance. Incident response contact information is not publicly disclosed, which could delay reporting and remediation of security issues. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved by implementing DNSSEC, HSTS, OCSP stapling, and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy.

Recommendations

  1. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload to enforce HTTPS and protect against downgrade attacks.
  2. Implement OCSP stapling to improve SSL certificate validation performance and reliability.
  3. Correct and properly configure CAA DNS records and enable DNSSEC to enhance DNS security.
  4. Publish a security.txt file and establish a clear vulnerability disclosure policy to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Provide explicit incident response contact channels (e.g., security@absence.io) to improve security communication and response.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
absence.io GmbH
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on TYPO3 CMS with a modern front-end stack including jQuery, Bootstrap, and Swiper for responsive UI components. Hosting is provided by DigitalOcean with DNS managed via AWS Route53. The site uses multiple third-party scripts for analytics, marketing, and consent management, including HubSpot, Google Tag Manager, Crazy Egg, and Usercentrics CMP. Performance is moderate to slow, with a large page size (~866 KB) and high resource count (219). Mobile optimization is good, with responsive design and mobile navigation menus. SEO is well addressed with meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. Technical debt is minimal but could be improved by optimizing resource loading and enhancing SSL and DNS configurations. The infrastructure is stable but would benefit from security and performance hardening to reduce risks and improve user experience.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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