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Security report for cwi.nl

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) · Education · Netherlands

Low risk. 1 critical or high finding in Security headers.

Security score

83/100

Risk levelLow

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

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands. It conducts pioneering fundamental research in key areas such as algorithms, data and intelligent systems, cryptography and security, and quantum computing. The institute collaborates closely with Dutch universities and industry partners, providing education and knowledge transfer through semester programmes and joint research initiatives. CWI is positioned as a leading academic and research entity within the Dutch and international scientific community. The website infrastructure is modern and professionally implemented, utilizing JavaScript, CSS, MathJax for mathematical rendering, and Piwik/Matomo for analytics. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with clear navigation and consistent branding. Privacy and cookie policies are present with consent mechanisms, reflecting good compliance with GDPR requirements. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not published. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. The site could improve by adding security headers and publishing a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file. WHOIS data confirms the legitimacy of the domain, matching the institutional identity and country. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professional, and serves its academic audience effectively.

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

1 finding 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 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';…

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

Keep watching cwi.nl

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.

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

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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
100
Security headers
65
Email security
80
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
83

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

CWI operates as a government-funded research institute under NWO-I, focusing on advancing mathematics and computer science research. Its business model revolves around research grants, academic collaboration, and knowledge dissemination. The institute targets researchers, students, and industry stakeholders interested in cutting-edge scientific developments. Its market position is strong nationally, supported by partnerships with universities and a visible presence in scientific communities. The website reflects a mature digital presence with active social media engagement and comprehensive content offerings including news, events, podcasts, and educational resources.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, no exposed sensitive information, and use of secure cookie consent mechanisms. However, the absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and security headers indicates room for improvement. No vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected in the content or scripts. The use of Piwik/Matomo analytics suggests a privacy-conscious approach. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing security documentation and headers.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options.
  2. Create and publish a security policy page including incident response procedures and contact channels.
  3. Add a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosure and improve transparency.
  4. Enhance cookie consent mechanisms with detailed data retention and processing information.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and analytics tools to ensure no vulnerabilities or privacy issues.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI)
Description
CWI is the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands, conducting pioneering research and transferring knowledge to society and business. Focus areas include Algorithms, Data & Intelligent Systems, Cryptography & Security, and Quantum Computing.
Key services
Fundamental research, Education and training via semester programmes, Collaboration with universities, Knowledge transfer to industry and society
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, CSS, MathJax, Piwik/Matomo analytics
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure cookies consent mechanism

Analytics and tracking

Services
Piwik/Matomo
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Piwik/Matomo
Transparency
basic

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 maintained.
  2. Strong academic and research focus with clear collaboration links.
  3. Good privacy and cookie compliance with consent mechanisms.
  4. No visible security policy or incident response info published.
  5. No terms of service page found.
  6. Social media presence is active and consistent.
  7. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern tech stack including JavaScript, CSS, and MathJax for rendering complex mathematical content. Analytics are handled via Piwik/Matomo, indicating a preference for privacy-friendly tools. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices evident from meta tags and structured navigation. Hosting details are not explicit but analytics are served from stats.cwi.nl. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich media content and interactive elements. There is no detected CMS, suggesting a custom or institutional platform. Technical risks are minimal but could be reduced by adding security headers and formalizing security policies.
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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