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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 Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage website serves as the official portal for companies in Germany seeking tax incentives for research and development activities under the Forschungszulagengesetz. It is a government-affiliated service, commissioned by the Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt, providing digital application and certification services for eligible R&D projects. The site offers comprehensive informational resources, including FAQs, example cases, and instructional videos, targeting businesses with a tax residence in Germany engaged in innovation activities. Technically, the website is built on the TYPO3 CMS platform, employing standard web technologies such as JavaScript and CSS. It demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, with a moderate performance profile. The site is secured with HTTPS, though lacks some advanced security headers and explicit incident response contact details. No analytics or advertising scripts were detected, indicating a privacy-conscious design. From a security perspective, the site maintains a solid posture with encrypted connections and secure form handling. However, it could improve by implementing additional security headers and publishing explicit security policies or incident response contacts. Privacy compliance is strong with a clear and comprehensive privacy policy, though a cookie consent mechanism is absent. Overall, the website presents a trustworthy, professional, and well-maintained digital presence for a government service, with minor areas for enhancement in security and privacy transparency.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of bescheinigung-forschungszulage.de. View the latest report

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 website positions itself as the authoritative certification body for the German research tax incentive program, serving a niche market of companies engaged in research and development. Its competitive advantage lies in its official government mandate and digitalized application process, facilitating easier access to funding. The business model is service-oriented, focusing on regulatory compliance and administrative support rather than commercial revenue generation. The target customers are German companies with tax residence, spanning various industries involved in innovation. The site reflects a medium-sized operation with strong government backing, no evident subsidiaries, and a clear partnership with the Bundesministerium. Growth indicators include the provision of educational materials and digital tools to streamline application processes, enhancing user engagement and adoption.

Security posture

The security maturity of the website is moderate to good. HTTPS is enforced, and forms use POST methods, reducing exposure to common web vulnerabilities. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents a potential risk vector. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which could hinder rapid mitigation of security incidents. The site does not expose sensitive data in its HTML content, and no vulnerable libraries were detected. Privacy practices are aligned with GDPR, supported by a comprehensive privacy policy, though cookie consent mechanisms are missing. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a government informational site but could benefit from enhanced security controls and transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Implement security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen defense against common web attacks.
  2. Publish an explicit security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Introduce a cookie consent mechanism to fully comply with GDPR cookie regulations.
  4. Consider adding terms of service to clarify user rights and obligations.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and CMS components to mitigate 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, 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
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure form with 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 in German and targeted at companies in Germany.
  3. The site uses TYPO3 CMS and is professionally designed.
  4. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found in the HTML; contact is via a form.
  5. Privacy policy is present and comprehensive; cookie consent mechanism is missing.
  6. No terms of service found.
  7. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  8. No analytics or advertising scripts detected.
  9. SSL is enabled and properly configured.
  10. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on TYPO3 CMS, a mature and widely used content management system, indicating a stable and maintainable infrastructure. The use of compressed CSS and JavaScript assets suggests optimization efforts. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features such as ARIA labels and keyboard navigability. Performance is moderate, with no evident blocking scripts or heavy resources. The absence of analytics or advertising scripts reduces external dependencies and privacy risks. Hosting details are not explicitly disclosed but the domain uses German name servers consistent with a government service. Overall, the technical implementation is solid with opportunities for modernization in security headers and enhanced performance monitoring.
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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