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Security report for archithese.ch

archithese · Media · Switzerland

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in Email security, Network security and 2 other checks.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

archithese is a Swiss-based international architecture magazine and theory publication with a focus on print and digital subscriptions, events, and editorial content. The website demonstrates a professional and consistent brand presence targeting architecture professionals, students, and enthusiasts. Technically, the site is built on the Contao CMS platform, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries and frameworks to deliver a responsive and user-friendly experience. The presence of cookie consent and privacy policy pages indicates GDPR compliance awareness, though explicit security and incident response policies are not publicly disclosed. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and no evident vulnerabilities, but could be improved with additional security headers and transparency. Overall, the website is trustworthy, well-maintained, and serves its niche audience effectively.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 100 · Medium
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

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. 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

  3. 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 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';…

  4. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

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

Keep watching archithese.ch

This scan found 20 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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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
95
Security headers
65
Email security
55
DNS health
75
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
53
Average
57
After the cap
49

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 business operates primarily in the media sector, focusing on architecture and architectural theory. Its revenue streams include subscriptions (print and digital), advertising, and event promotion. The company maintains a clear market position as a specialized Swiss architecture magazine with international reach. The website supports multiple subscription products and provides editorial content through blogs and event announcements. Social media integration and partnerships with organizations like fsai.ch enhance its ecosystem. The business model is subscription-centric with additional revenue from advertising and sponsorships. Growth indicators include active event promotion and digital offerings. No parent or subsidiary companies are identified, indicating a focused small business operation.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS and implements cookie consent mechanisms, reflecting a baseline security and privacy posture. However, no explicit security policies, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure programs are publicly available, which limits transparency and preparedness perception. The use of third-party tracking scripts like Facebook Pixel and Google Tag Manager introduces moderate user tracking, which is disclosed via cookie consent. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Security headers appear to be missing or not detected, representing an area for improvement. Overall, the security maturity is moderate but could benefit from enhanced policies and technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  2. Add standard security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, and X-XSS-Protection to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  3. Conduct regular audits of third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance privacy compliance by detailing data retention policies and providing clearer user data control options.
  5. Consider implementing a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
archithese
Description
archithese ist eine internationale Schriftenreihe für Architektur und Architekturtheorie mit Redaktion in Zürich.
Key services
Print magazine subscription, E-Paper digital subscription, Blog and event promotion, Advertising (Inserieren), Shop for subscriptions and gifts
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, MooTools, Contao CMS, Isotope, Colorbox, Mmenu, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel
Frameworks
Contao Open Source CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Facebook Pixel
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges
  2. Uses modern CMS (Contao) with multiple JS libraries for UI and UX
  3. Includes cookie consent and privacy policy indicating GDPR awareness
  4. No direct company emails or phone numbers found in HTML content
  5. Social media presence on Facebook and Instagram
  6. Multiple subscription products offered with e-paper and print options
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response info publicly available
  8. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt found
  9. Advertising includes Facebook Pixel and Google Tag Manager for tracking
  10. Good mobile optimization and navigation clarity
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Contao Open Source CMS platform, utilizing a range of JavaScript libraries including jQuery, MooTools, Isotope, Colorbox, and Mmenu for UI components and interactivity. Google Tag Manager and Facebook Pixel are used for analytics and marketing tracking. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessible navigation menus. Performance is moderate, with no major blocking scripts detected. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured data in JSON-LD format. However, the absence of detected security headers and limited hosting information suggest opportunities for infrastructure hardening and transparency improvements.
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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