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Security report for aea.academy

AeA Academy · Education · Malta

High risk. 10 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 2 other checks.

Security score

30/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Advenio eAcademy is a Malta-based Higher Education Institution established in 2013, offering EU-accredited online and blended learning programmes across EQF/MQF Levels 4 to 7. The institution targets international learners and educational providers seeking flexible, high-quality education with recognized credentials. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence built on WordPress with modern LMS and SEO tools, providing a professional user experience with clear navigation and rich content including testimonials and program details. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and secure forms, though explicit security headers and published incident response policies are absent. Privacy compliance is good with a comprehensive GDPR-aligned privacy policy, but lacks a cookie consent mechanism. Overall, the domain registration aligns well with the business claims, supporting high legitimacy and trustworthiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
10/ 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

10 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

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

    • Critical

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  2. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  3. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

  4. 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

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

Keep watching aea.academy

This scan found 23 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.

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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
0
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
10
Average
30

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 · found on this site
  • 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

The institution positions itself as a reputable provider of further and higher education online in Malta, leveraging EU accreditation and international partnerships to attract a global student base. Its business model focuses on delivering accredited diplomas and degrees via a virtual campus, supported by scholarship schemes and personalized study plans. The presence of multiple social media channels and active news updates indicates engagement with its community and stakeholders. The company maintains a medium-sized operation with a focus on education sector compliance and quality assurance.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate, uses reCAPTCHA to protect forms, and enforces password complexity on user registration. However, it lacks explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options, which could enhance protection against common web attacks. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The absence of a public security policy or incident response plan limits transparency. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved with additional hardening and policy publication.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and configure security headers including CSP, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen web security.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner to comply fully with EU cookie regulations and enhance user privacy transparency.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response plan on the website to improve trust and preparedness.
  4. Introduce a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party plugins and themes to mitigate risks from outdated components.

Contact details published on the site

Legal name
AeA Academy
Registration number
MFHEA Licence number: 2013-FHI-006
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
AeA Academy
Description
Advenio eAcademy offers cutting-edge online educational programs, enabling institutions and learners to access an innovative virtual campus beyond physical boundaries.
Key services
EQF/MQF Level 4 to 7 accredited programmes, Online and blended learning courses, Scholarship schemes, Student support and personalised study plans
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, PHP, Yoast SEO, Masterstudy LMS, Elementor, Bootstrap, jQuery, Slider Revolution, WooCommerce, TranslatePress
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of reCAPTCHA for forms
  • Secure login and registration forms with password requirements

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google reCAPTCHA
Marketing tools
Yoast SEO, Elementor, TranslatePress
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally designed WordPress site for an EU-accredited online education provider based in Malta.
  2. Content is rich with detailed program information, testimonials, and contact details.
  3. No signs of blocking or WAF interference; full content is accessible.
  4. Security practices are good but could be improved with explicit security headers and published security policies.
  5. Privacy policy is present and GDPR compliant; cookie consent mechanism is missing.
  6. Multiple social media channels linked and active.
  7. Use of modern web technologies and SEO plugins indicates good digital maturity.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a robust LMS plugin (Masterstudy LMS) and uses Elementor for page building, supported by Bootstrap for responsive design. SEO is enhanced via Yoast SEO plugin. The site loads moderate resources including jQuery, Slider Revolution, and various CSS/JS libraries. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. The technical stack is modern and well-integrated, though hosting provider details are not explicit. The site uses TranslatePress for multilingual support, indicating readiness for international audiences.
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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