Skip to main content

Security report for boscorf.org

British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF) · Other · United Kingdom

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Email security and SSL/TLS.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

BOSCORF (British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility) is a well-established UK-based scientific repository and research facility specializing in the long-term storage and analysis of deep-sea sediment cores. As part of the National Oceanography Centre, BOSCORF serves a broad audience including academic researchers, commercial clients, and early career scientists by providing core curation, analytical services, training, and consultancy. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and professional branding consistent with its scientific mission. Technically, the site is built on Drupal 10 with modern CSS frameworks and integrates Google Analytics for user insights. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with a moderate performance profile. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain protections in place, though improvements could be made by enabling DNSSEC and publishing explicit security policies. Privacy compliance is well addressed through a cookie consent mechanism and clear links to privacy policies. Overall, BOSCORF demonstrates a high level of business credibility and trustworthiness, supported by consistent WHOIS data and a long domain history. No critical security or content safety issues were detected. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing incident response contacts, and adding terms of service to further strengthen compliance and user trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 100 · Low
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

2 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. 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 boscorf.org

This scan found 17 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
90
Email security
60
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
81

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

BOSCORF occupies a niche but essential position in the marine science research sector as the UK's largest deep-sea sediment repository. Its competitive advantage lies in its affiliation with the National Oceanography Centre and its comprehensive suite of services including sample storage, non-destructive analysis, and training. The business model is service-oriented, targeting academic and commercial researchers who require access to unique geological samples and expert analysis. Revenue streams likely include service fees for analysis, training courses, and consultancy. The website indicates active engagement with the scientific community through news updates, publications, and social media. The partnership ecosystem is centered around the National Oceanography Centre and related scientific bodies, with no subsidiaries or external commercial partners evident.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protections that prevent unauthorized changes. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content Security Policy or HSTS represents an area for improvement. No security policy or incident response information is published, which could impact user confidence in handling security incidents. The cookie consent mechanism aligns with GDPR requirements, and no vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by adopting additional best practices and transparency measures.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to improve DNS integrity and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement and verify HTTP security headers including CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  4. Add a terms of service page to clarify user agreements and legal protections.
  5. Continue to maintain and update cookie consent mechanisms to ensure ongoing GDPR compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF)
Description
BOSCORF is the UK's largest deep-sea sediment repository and state-of-the-art research facility. It is part of the National Oceanography Centre. BOSCORF is responsible for long-term storage and curation of sediment cores collected through UKRI-NERC research programmes and offers analytical, imaging, training, and consultancy services related to sediment core analysis.
Key services
Core repository and sample curation, Non-destructive analysis and imaging services, Training and education courses, Sample, data, and instrument time requests, Consultancy services for non-academic clients
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Bootstrap CSS, Google Analytics, CookiesJSR
Frameworks
Drupal
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited domain statuses

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking mechanisms.
  2. Strong affiliation with National Oceanography Centre enhances trust.
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent mechanism implemented.
  4. No visible security policy or incident response information published.
  5. No terms of service page detected.
  6. No phone numbers or physical addresses explicitly listed on the main page.
  7. Social media presence is active and linked.
  8. Use of modern CMS (Drupal 10) and standard web technologies.
  9. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging Bootstrap CSS for responsive design and integrating third-party libraries such as Google Analytics and CookiesJSR for tracking and consent management. The site uses multiple CDN sources for stylesheets and scripts, enhancing performance and reliability. The domain is hosted with DNS servers under lcn.com, with no explicit hosting provider identified. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. The site uses modern HTML5 and CSS3 standards, and JavaScript is employed for dynamic content such as video controls and cookie consent. There is no evidence of outdated or vulnerable libraries. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and DNS security to reduce technical 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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with boscorf.org. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review boscorf.org.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.