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Security report for bsh.de

Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) · Government · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) is a German federal maritime authority responsible for shipping, hydrography, marine environment, offshore wind energy, and climate data. It serves as a central hub combining administration and scientific research, providing extensive services and information to maritime professionals, government bodies, and the public. The website reflects a mature, well-structured digital presence with comprehensive content and clear navigation, targeting a specialized audience in maritime and environmental sectors. Technically, the site is built on the Government Site Builder CMS, hosted on German government infrastructure with secure HTTPS and moderate performance. Accessibility and SEO are well addressed, though some modern security headers are not explicitly visible. The site lacks a visible cookie consent mechanism, which is a minor compliance gap given the GDPR environment. Security posture is strong with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of a public vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contacts suggests room for improvement in transparency and security culture. Overall, the domain registration and hosting align with official government standards, reinforcing trustworthiness. The site is free from advertising, tracking, or adult content, ensuring a safe and professional user experience. Strategic recommendations include implementing a cookie consent banner, publishing security policies, and enhancing visible security headers to further strengthen compliance and trust.

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

4 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. 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

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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
67
Security headers
80
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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

BSH holds a strong market position as Germany's central maritime federal agency, offering regulatory, scientific, and informational services primarily to maritime industries, government entities, and environmental stakeholders. Its business model is public service-oriented, funded by the government, focusing on data provision, safety, and environmental protection. The agency leverages partnerships with other government bodies and international organizations, evident from linked domains and network affiliations. Growth indicators include ongoing offshore wind energy projects and climate monitoring initiatives. The website supports these operations by providing extensive data portals, publications, and event information, reinforcing BSH's role as a knowledge leader in maritime affairs.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, no visible sensitive data leaks, and absence of vulnerable third-party libraries. Security headers are likely implemented server-side but not explicitly visible in the HTML source. The lack of a public vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contacts is a gap in security transparency. No signs of malware, phishing, or WAF blocking were detected. GDPR compliance is supported by a comprehensive privacy policy, though cookie consent mechanisms are missing. Overall, the site is secure for its purpose but could enhance user trust by publishing incident response and vulnerability handling information.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a visible cookie consent banner to ensure full GDPR compliance and user transparency.
  2. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting of security issues.
  3. Add explicit incident response contact information on the website for security-related communications.
  4. Ensure all recommended security headers (e.g., X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) are set and verifiable.
  5. Regularly review and update technical stack and security practices to maintain high security and performance standards.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH)
Description
Das Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) ist eine zentrale maritime Bundesoberbehörde, die Verwaltung und Wissenschaft vereint und sich mit Schifffahrt, Klima, Meeresumwelt, Offshore-Windenergie, Vermessung und Kartographie sowie Meeresdaten beschäftigt.
Key services
Nautische Informationen und Sicherheitshinweise, Offshore-Netzanbindung und Raumplanung, Meeresumweltmonitoring und Klimadaten, Vermessung und Kartographie, Publikationen und Datenbereitstellung, Forschung und Entwicklung
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Government Site Builder CMS, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript
Frameworks
Government Site Builder
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No inline scripts with suspicious content
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional government site with comprehensive maritime and environmental information.
  2. Content is well structured with clear navigation and multiple language options (German and English).
  3. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  4. Social media presence is official and limited to Instagram and Facebook.
  5. No visible cookie consent banner despite GDPR compliance in privacy policy.
  6. No explicit security or incident response contact information found on the homepage.
  7. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
  8. Forms present are limited to search functionality with no personal data collection on homepage.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses the Government Site Builder CMS, a specialized platform for German government sites, ensuring compliance with governmental standards. The tech stack includes modern HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript with responsive design for mobile optimization. Hosting is on German academic/government DNS infrastructure, indicating reliable and secure hosting. Performance is moderate, with no major issues detected. SEO and accessibility are well implemented with proper meta tags, ARIA labels, and structured navigation. There is no evidence of heavy third-party scripts or trackers, reducing attack surface and privacy risks. Opportunities exist to enhance visible security headers and implement cookie consent mechanisms.
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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