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Security report for bochum-smartcity.de

WirtschaftsEntwicklungsGesellschaft Bochum mbH · Government · Germany

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

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The website www.bochum-smartcity.de represents the Smart City Innovation Unit of Bochum, a municipal initiative focused on digitalizing city processes and fostering innovation within the city administration and affiliated enterprises. The site targets local citizens, city officials, and business partners, positioning itself as a key player in the digital transformation of Bochum. The business model is public sector-driven, emphasizing collaboration and modernization of municipal services. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with Elementor as the page builder, enhanced by Yoast SEO for search optimization and HubSpot for marketing analytics. Security measures include HTTPS, Wordfence plugin protection, and Google reCAPTCHA for form spam prevention. The site employs a comprehensive cookie consent mechanism compliant with GDPR, ensuring user privacy and transparency. Security posture is solid with encrypted connections and consent management, though explicit security headers could be improved. No vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected. The website is fully accessible without WAF or blocking mechanisms, indicating stable and open access. Overall, the site demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure aligned with public sector standards, providing a trustworthy and professional user experience. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing a formal security policy, and continuous monitoring of third-party integrations to maintain compliance and security.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
60/ 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. 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

  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 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 bochum-smartcity.de

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
85
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
60
Average
50
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

Smart City Bochum operates as a government innovation unit, leveraging digital technologies to improve municipal processes. Its competitive advantage lies in its integration with city administration and local enterprises, enabling coordinated digital transformation. The business model is service-oriented, focusing on public value creation rather than commercial revenue. Target customers include city residents, businesses, and government stakeholders. The partnership ecosystem includes technology providers like HubSpot and Google, supporting analytics and marketing efforts. Growth indicators include active digital projects and public engagement. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining transparency, data protection, and continuous innovation to sustain public trust and effectiveness.

Security posture

The website exhibits a good security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and use of security plugins such as Wordfence. Google reCAPTCHA protects forms from spam and bots. Cookie consent is managed with detailed documentation and compliance with GDPR. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents a compliance gap that could be addressed to enhance protection against common web attacks. Incident response information and a published security policy are missing, which could improve readiness and transparency. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could benefit from formalized policies and enhanced header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Publish a formal security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  3. Maintain regular updates of WordPress core and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  4. Conduct periodic security audits and penetration testing to identify and remediate risks.
  5. Enhance user privacy transparency by detailing data retention and processing practices.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
WirtschaftsEntwicklungsGesellschaft Bochum mbH
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
WirtschaftsEntwicklungsGesellschaft Bochum mbH
Description
Die Smart City Innovation Unit, ein Team aus Stadtverwaltung und städtischen Unternehmen, arbeitet daran, Prozesse im Konzern Stadt zu digitalisieren.
Key services
Digitalization of city processes, Smart city innovation, Collaboration with city administration and enterprises
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Elementor, Yoast SEO, HubSpot, Google reCAPTCHA, Meta Pixel, Real Cookie Banner Pro
Frameworks
WordPress CMS, Elementor page builder
Platforms
HubSpot marketing and analytics
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS
  • Google reCAPTCHA for form spam protection
  • Cookie consent management with documentation
  • Wordfence security plugin active

Analytics and tracking

Services
HubSpot Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Meta (Facebook) Pixel
Tracking pixels
Meta Pixel, HubSpot tracking, Google reCAPTCHA, YouTube embeds
Marketing tools
HubSpot
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a municipal digitalization initiative for Smart City Bochum.
  2. Content is in German and professionally presented.
  3. Cookie consent and privacy policies are implemented with high compliance.
  4. Use of multiple third-party marketing and analytics tools with consent.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  6. Security posture is good but could improve with explicit security headers.
  7. No WAF or blocking detected; site fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern WordPress CMS with Elementor for flexible page design and Yoast SEO for optimization. HubSpot integration supports marketing and analytics, while Google reCAPTCHA secures forms. The hosting and DNS are managed via DomainControl (GoDaddy), indicating professional infrastructure. Performance is moderate with preconnects and preloads implemented, though some optimization opportunities exist. Accessibility is basic but functional. The technical stack is well-suited for a municipal digital project, balancing usability and security. Technical risks include reliance on multiple third-party scripts which require ongoing monitoring for compliance and security.
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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