Skip to main content

Security report for corenic.org

CORE Association · Technology · Switzerland

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

CORE Association is a well-established not-for-profit registry service provider based in Switzerland, operating more than 25 top-level domains (TLDs) since 2001. The organization offers comprehensive services including registry management, registry software, consultancy, and brand development tailored to various types of TLDs such as open, community, geographic, brand, IDNs, and ccTLDs. Their clientele includes Fortune 500 companies, intergovernmental organizations, governments, and grassroots non-profits, positioning CORE as a trusted and experienced player in the domain registry industry. Technically, the website is built on WordPress CMS, utilizing standard web technologies such as jQuery and Google Tag Manager for analytics. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, clear navigation, and professional design quality. Performance is moderate, with opportunities for improvement in accessibility and SEO. The technical infrastructure appears stable and appropriate for the organization's needs. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and domain registration statuses that prevent unauthorized changes. However, it lacks DNSSEC and important security headers, which are recommended to enhance DNS and web security. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Incident response contact is provided via a dedicated abuse/legal email address, but no formal security policy or vulnerability disclosure program is present. Overall, the website and domain registration data indicate a high level of legitimacy and professionalism. The absence of privacy and cookie policies is a notable compliance gap, especially under GDPR. Strategic improvements in security headers, DNSSEC, and privacy compliance would strengthen the organization's security posture and trustworthiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 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.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

  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 corenic.org

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.

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
62
Security headers
80
Email security
60
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
70

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

CORE Association holds a strong market position as a niche registry service provider with a long operational history since 1998 and active TLD operations since 2001. Their not-for-profit business model focuses on community and geographic TLDs, serving a diverse client base including governments and large enterprises. The partnership ecosystem includes related entities such as corehub.net, which acts as their registrar. The organization leverages custom solutions and brand development services to differentiate itself. Growth indicators include continuous service offerings and a broad portfolio of TLDs. The website content and structure reflect a mature and stable operation with clear business focus and professional communication.

Security posture

The security maturity level of the website is moderate to good. HTTPS is enforced, and domain registration statuses provide protection against unauthorized domain transfers or deletions. The organization is recognized by ICANN as the first European Emergency Back End Registry Operator, indicating a strong commitment to DNS security and stability. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents areas for improvement. No exposed credentials or vulnerabilities were found in the website content. Incident response contact is clearly provided, but no formal security policy or vulnerability disclosure mechanism is published. Compliance with GDPR is incomplete due to missing privacy and cookie policies.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and integrity.
  2. Implement standard security headers (Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) to protect against common web attacks.
  3. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance statements.
  4. Establish and publish a formal security policy and vulnerability disclosure program to improve transparency and incident response readiness.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and tracking tools to minimize security risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
CORE Internet Council of Registrars
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
CORE Association
Description
CORE Association is a registry service provider operating more than 25 TLDs, offering registry management, registry software, consultancy, and brand development services. It is a not-for-profit organization focused on community and geographic TLD registries, providing custom-made solutions for open, community, geographic, brand, IDNs, and ccTLDs. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, IGOs, governments, and grassroots non-profits worldwide.
Key services
Registry Management, Registry Software, Consultancy Services, Brand Development
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 2.2.4, Google Tag Manager, Google Fonts (Lato), Bootstrap (implied by classes and glyphicons)
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • ClientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited domain statuses set
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with required fields

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. No explicit privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies found on the site.
  3. Contact information is clearly provided including emails, phone numbers, and physical address.
  4. WHOIS data is consistent and supports business legitimacy.
  5. Website uses WordPress CMS with standard technologies and Google Analytics for tracking.
  6. Security posture is good but could be improved with DNSSEC and security headers.
  7. Content is professional, relevant, and safe for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with jQuery 2.2.4 and Google Tag Manager for analytics. The use of Google Fonts (Lato) and Bootstrap-like classes indicates a modern but somewhat dated tech stack. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. The site is mobile responsive and has good navigation clarity. No critical technical debt or errors were detected in the HTML content. Hosting provider details are not explicitly disclosed. The site lacks advanced accessibility features but meets basic standards. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and canonical links. Overall, the technical infrastructure is stable and suitable for the organization's operational needs.
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 corenic.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 corenic.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.