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Security report for council.science

International Science Council · Government · N/a

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

The International Science Council (ISC) is a globally recognized non-governmental organization dedicated to advancing science as a global public good. It serves a diverse international membership, including scientific bodies, research institutions, and policymakers, positioning itself as a leader in science diplomacy, policy advocacy, and global research collaboration. The website reflects this stature with comprehensive content, clear navigation, and professional branding that aligns with its mission and audience. Technically, the ISC website is built on a modern WordPress platform enhanced with performance optimization tools such as NitroPack and integrates essential analytics and translation services. The site demonstrates fast loading times, mobile responsiveness, and good accessibility features, indicating a mature digital infrastructure suitable for a large international organization. From a security perspective, the site employs HTTPS with strong SSL configurations and includes standard security headers, contributing to a robust security posture. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed, suggesting areas for improvement in transparency and preparedness. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms, reflecting adherence to GDPR and related regulations. Overall, the ISC website presents a low-risk profile with high trustworthiness, professional content, and sound technical and security practices. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security transparency, adding vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, and maintaining vigilant updates to third-party components to sustain security and compliance.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of council.science. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
70/ 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

3 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 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 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

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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
75
Security headers
70
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
70
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

ISC operates as a non-profit entity focused on global science collaboration and policy influence. Its market positioning as a global science council is supported by a broad membership base and strategic initiatives in science diplomacy and open science. The business model centers on advocacy, knowledge dissemination, and facilitating international scientific cooperation. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, grants, and partnerships. The target audience encompasses scientists, research organizations, and policymakers worldwide. The website's content and structure support growth and engagement, with clear pathways for membership and resource access. Partnerships and regional presence indicate a well-established ecosystem, enhancing ISC's competitive advantage and global reach.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, comprehensive security headers, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. The use of reputable third-party services and performance optimizers is balanced with privacy compliance mechanisms. However, the absence of a public security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure program limits transparency and may impact stakeholder confidence in security readiness. No critical vulnerabilities or security misconfigurations were detected in the analysis. The organization should consider publishing detailed security documentation and establishing clear channels for security incident reporting to enhance its security culture and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response plan on the website to improve transparency.
  2. Implement a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  3. Add explicit security contact channels (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email addresses) for incident reporting.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance user trust by showcasing certifications or compliance badges related to security and privacy.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
International Science Council
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
International Science Council
Description
The International Science Council (ISC) is a non-governmental organization with a unique global membership that advances science as a global public good.
Key services
Science diplomacy, Global science policy advocacy, Research collaboration facilitation, Publications and events
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, NitroPack, Google Tag Manager, jQuery, Google Analytics, GTranslate
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security plugins (inferred from WordPress ecosystem)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, ExactMetrics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
GTranslate
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured
  2. Strong focus on global science collaboration and policy
  3. Use of modern web technologies and performance optimization
  4. Good privacy and cookie policy presence with consent mechanisms
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity
  6. No exposed sensitive information or security misconfigurations
Technical notes

Notes

The ISC website leverages WordPress CMS with advanced caching and optimization via NitroPack, ensuring fast load times and good performance metrics. Integration with Google Tag Manager and ExactMetrics provides robust analytics capabilities, while GTranslate supports multilingual accessibility. The site is mobile-optimized and includes accessibility features consistent with modern standards. Hosting appears to utilize CDN services for content delivery and security. The technical stack is well-maintained with no apparent technical debt or deprecated technologies. Opportunities exist to further modernize by adopting progressive web app features or enhancing accessibility compliance to WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 83/100Low24 findingsView report
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