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Security report for bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de

Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage · Government · Germany

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The website www.bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de serves as the official digital platform for the Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage (BSFZ), a German government entity responsible for certifying research and development projects eligible for tax incentives under the Forschungszulagengesetz. It targets companies with tax residence in Germany engaged in R&D activities, providing them with information, application procedures, and digital access to submit certification requests. The site is well-branded with official logos and links to the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), reinforcing its authoritative position. Technically, the website is built on TYPO3 CMS, hosted on German infrastructure (SGX Leipzig), and employs modern web standards with responsive design and accessibility considerations. The site lacks advanced tracking or advertising technologies, focusing on privacy and minimal data collection. However, no explicit cookie consent mechanism was detected despite anonymized data collection disclosures. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS and secure form submissions but lacks visible security headers and published security policies or incident response contacts. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the analyzed content. The WHOIS data aligns with the website's official nature, showing consistent domain registration and hosting details. Overall, the website demonstrates a solid business credibility and technical foundation suitable for its government service role. Strategic improvements include implementing security headers, adding cookie consent mechanisms, and publishing security and incident response policies to enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
28/ 100 · High
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. 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 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

  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 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';…
  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de

This scan found 22 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
77
Security headers
70
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
28
Average
68

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
28
Employees
0
Customers
28
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
0%

1 subdomain affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

The BSFZ operates as a government service facilitating tax incentives for research and development in Germany. Its market position is unique and essential, serving all eligible companies nationwide. The business model revolves around providing certification services digitally, reducing administrative burdens. The platform supports transparency and accessibility through FAQs, explanatory videos, and downloadable materials. Partnerships are evident with the BMBF, enhancing credibility. Growth indicators include the integration of new laws like the Wachstumschancengesetz expanding eligible expenses. The ecosystem is focused on government, business, and research sectors, with no commercial advertising or affiliate relationships detected.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is enforced, and forms use POST methods, reducing risk of data interception. However, the absence of security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is published, which could delay response to security events. Privacy compliance is good with a clear privacy policy, but cookie consent is missing. No known vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the security posture is adequate for informational government services but could be improved to meet higher standards and regulatory requirements.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTP security headers including CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply with EU cookie laws and enhance user transparency.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  4. Consider adding a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly audit and update the CMS and dependencies to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage
Description
Die Forschungszulage ist die steuerliche Begünstigung von Forschungsausgaben von Unternehmen. Die Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage (BSFZ) entscheidet auf Antrag, ob ein FuE-Vorhaben förderfähig ist. Mit der Bescheinigung können Unternehmen einen Antrag auf Forschungszulage beim jeweils zuständigen Finanzamt stellen.
Key services
Bescheinigung von förderfähigen FuE-Vorhaben, Information und Unterstützung zur Antragstellung, Bereitstellung von Infomaterialien, FAQ und Erklärvideos
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
TYPO3 CMS, JavaScript, CSS
Frameworks
TYPO3
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS usage implied by canonical and external links (https://www.bmbf.de)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Forms use POST method

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

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. Content is professionally presented and focused on the German research funding program.
  3. No direct company contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via a form.
  4. No cookie consent banner detected despite privacy note about anonymized data collection.
  5. No explicit security policies or incident response contacts published.
  6. No analytics or tracking scripts detected in the provided HTML.
  7. Website uses TYPO3 CMS and is hosted on German infrastructure.
  8. No advertising or affiliate marketing detected.
  9. Strong trust indicators due to official ministry logos and links.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on TYPO3 CMS, a mature and widely used open-source content management system. The front-end uses standard HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript with a responsive design approach. Hosting is provided by SGX Leipzig, a German hosting provider, ensuring data residency compliance. Performance appears moderate with compressed CSS and JS assets, but no explicit performance metrics were available. Accessibility features such as ARIA roles and labels are implemented, improving usability for assistive technologies. SEO is supported by meta tags, canonical links, and structured data (JSON-LD). There is no evidence of advanced analytics or third-party marketing tools, reducing technical complexity and privacy risks.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 68/100Medium30 findingsView report
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