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Security report for arch-e.eu

Bundeskammer der Ziviltechniker:innen I Arch + Ing · Other · Austria

High risk. 9 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

47/100

Risk levelHigh

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

ARCH-E is a European platform dedicated to promoting architectural design competitions (ADCs) across Europe, focusing on increasing participation especially among small and female-led architectural practices. The platform offers research, practical tools, and advocacy, supported by a consortium reaching over 560,000 architects and co-funded by the European Union. The website provides extensive resources including reports, a network, glossaries, maps, and evaluation tools to support ADCs. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies such as Bootstrap, Masonry.js, and Piwik PRO analytics, with good mobile optimization and a professional design. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and CSRF protections, though some improvements are recommended in cookie consent and security policy disclosures. Overall, the site is trustworthy, well-branded, and serves a specialized professional audience effectively.

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

9 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

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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

  2. 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"

    • 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';…

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Keep watching arch-e.eu

This scan found 26 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.

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

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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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
10
Average
47

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

The platform operates as a non-profit EU co-funded project targeting architects and stakeholders involved in architectural design competitions. Its competitive advantage lies in its comprehensive research, extensive network, and practical tools tailored to overcome cross-border barriers in ADC participation. The business model focuses on advocacy, knowledge sharing, and community building rather than commercial sales. The consortium and EU funding provide credibility and a broad reach. The platform's partnerships and social media presence enhance its ecosystem, positioning it as a key resource in the European architectural sector.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, CSRF token usage, and secure form handling. However, the absence of visible security headers and a formal security policy or incident response plan indicates room for improvement. The use of Piwik PRO analytics is privacy-conscious but lacks a visible cookie consent mechanism, which may pose compliance risks under GDPR. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing policies and improving transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a visible cookie consent banner to comply with EU cookie regulations and enhance user privacy transparency.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information to improve trust and preparedness.
  3. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to strengthen defense-in-depth.
  4. Consider creating and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly review and update privacy and security documentation to maintain compliance and user trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Bundeskammer der Ziviltechniker:innen I Arch + Ing
Description
ARCH-E promotes high-quality architectural solutions by increasing the use of Architectural Design Competitions (ADC) in Europe, focusing on overcoming cross-border barriers especially for small and female-led practices. It provides research, practical support, and political advocacy through reports, online tools, and a network.
Key services
Research reports and publications, Online ARCH-E network, ADC glossary, ADC map, ADC evaluation tool
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Bootstrap, FontAwesome, Masonry.js, Moment.js, Piwik PRO analytics, JavaScript ES Modules
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • CSRF token present in meta tag
  • Secure forms with validation
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Piwik PRO
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Piwik PRO
Marketing tools
Piwik PRO analytics
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is rich, well-structured, and professionally presented.
  3. Strong focus on European architectural design competitions and related research.
  4. Multiple social media channels linked and consistent branding.
  5. No explicit privacy or security policies beyond data policy and imprint found.
  6. No phone numbers or physical addresses explicitly listed.
  7. Forms include newsletter subscription and contact message with validation and CSRF token.
  8. Use of modern JavaScript modules and analytics via Piwik PRO.
  9. No cookie consent banner detected despite use of tracking scripts.
  10. No visible security headers in HTML source; likely handled at server level but not confirmed.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern front-end technologies including Bootstrap for responsive design, Masonry.js for layout, and Moment.js for date handling. It leverages ES modules for JavaScript and integrates Piwik PRO for analytics, indicating a focus on privacy-friendly tracking. The site is mobile-optimized with good navigation clarity and SEO meta tags. Hosting details are limited but the registrar is reputable. Performance is moderate with some asynchronous script loading. There is no detected CMS, suggesting a custom or static site architecture. Technical risks are low but could be mitigated by adding security headers and cookie consent mechanisms.
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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