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Security report for cepweb.org

Council on Economic Policies · Non-profit · Switzerland

Low risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

The Council on Economic Policies (CEP) is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on sustainability through fiscal, monetary, and trade policy research. The organization is positioned as a reputable entity within the economic policy research sector, targeting policymakers, researchers, and sustainability advocates globally. Their website reflects a professional and consistent brand image, offering a range of publications, programs, and events to engage their audience. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Bootstrap, jQuery, and multiple analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Matomo, and LinkedIn Insight Tag. The site is mobile-optimized and demonstrates good SEO and accessibility practices, although some accessibility features could be enhanced. Performance is moderate, with a clean and navigable user interface. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses security plugins, but lacks explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is strong, with a clear privacy policy, cookie consent banner, and GDPR adherence. Contact information is transparent, but no dedicated security policy or incident response pages were found. Overall, CEP's website presents a trustworthy and professional front with a solid security posture and compliance framework. The lack of detailed WHOIS data is mitigated by the site's transparency and consistent content. Strategic improvements in security headers and incident response documentation would further enhance their security maturity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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 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';…

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • 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

  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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching cepweb.org

This scan found 16 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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Recommended

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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
65
Security headers
55
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
85
Average
78

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

CEP operates as a specialized nonprofit think tank with a clear focus on economic policies related to sustainability. Their market positioning is strong within the international policy research community, supported by partnerships such as the Tax Expenditures Lab and the German Institute for Development and Sustainability. The business model revolves around research, policy analysis, and advocacy, with revenue likely derived from grants, partnerships, and donations. The target audience includes policymakers, economists, and sustainability advocates. The website content and structure support thought leadership and community engagement through publications, events, and social media channels. The organization's size is small, with a focused team and clear branding consistency. The partnership ecosystem enhances credibility and reach.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, use of security plugins, and cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options represents an area for improvement. No signs of vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the HTML content. The site lacks dedicated security or incident response pages, which could improve transparency and readiness. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from enhanced header policies and documented incident response procedures.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and Referrer-Policy to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Develop and publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  3. Regularly audit and update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to minimize vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to meet higher compliance standards and improve user experience for all visitors.
  5. Maintain and document data retention policies and privacy compliance measures to strengthen trust and regulatory adherence.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Council on Economic Policies
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Council on Economic Policies
Description
CEP is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan economic policy think tank for sustainability focused on fiscal, monetary and trade policy.
Key services
Economic policy research, Fiscal policy analysis, Monetary policy analysis, Trade policy analysis, Publications and events
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Bootstrap 3.3.4, jQuery 3.7.1, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Matomo Analytics, LinkedIn Insight Tag, Easy Fancybox, CT Ultimate GDPR plugin, Burst Statistics plugin, Sassy Social Share plugin, Download Monitor plugin
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security plugins (WP Simple Firewall - Shield)
  • Cookie consent banner implemented

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Matomo, LinkedIn Insight Tag
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
LinkedIn Insight Tag, Matomo
Marketing tools
Sassy Social Share
Transparency
good

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 challenge
  2. Content is professionally presented and relevant to economic policy and sustainability
  3. Strong presence of GDPR compliance and cookie consent mechanisms
  4. Use of multiple analytics and marketing tools with transparency
  5. WHOIS data is unavailable or malformed, but no red flags detected
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response pages found
  7. Contact information is clearly provided in footer
  8. No terms of service page detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform utilizing Bootstrap 3.3.4 for responsive design and jQuery 3.7.1 for client-side scripting. It integrates multiple analytics and marketing tools including Google Analytics, Matomo, Google Tag Manager, and LinkedIn Insight Tag, indicating a mature digital marketing approach. The site uses several WordPress plugins for GDPR compliance, social sharing, download management, and security (Shield plugin). Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO practices. The technical stack is modern but could be updated to newer Bootstrap versions and enhanced with improved accessibility and security header implementations. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified.
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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