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Security report for dataprotectionauthority.be

Data Protection Authority · Government · Belgium

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Data Protection Authority website serves as the official portal for the Belgian national data protection regulator. It provides comprehensive information on data protection principles, rights, and actions citizens and professionals can take, including information requests, mediation, and complaint lodging. The site is well-positioned as a trusted government resource with a clear mission to ensure compliance with data protection laws. Technically, the website employs modern web standards, including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, and integrates privacy-friendly analytics via Plausible.io. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with a consistent branding and professional design. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though security headers could be improved and explicit incident response information is absent. Overall, the site is trustworthy, GDPR compliant, and serves its audience effectively.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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

6 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

      What to do: Add SPF record: "v=spf1 include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com ~all"

  2. 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';…

  3. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

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

Keep watching dataprotectionauthority.be

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.

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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
77
Security headers
45
Email security
40
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
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

The Belgian Data Protection Authority operates as a government entity focused on regulatory compliance and citizen engagement in data protection matters. Its business model is non-commercial, centered on public service and legal enforcement. The website targets citizens and professionals seeking guidance or recourse on data privacy issues. The Authority maintains a strong market position as the official regulator, supported by clear communication channels and authoritative content. Its partnership ecosystem includes social media platforms for outreach but no commercial partners or subsidiaries are evident. Growth indicators include regular news updates and publications. The Authority's operations emphasize transparency, compliance, and public trust.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, no exposed sensitive data, and a cookie consent mechanism aligned with GDPR. The use of privacy-friendly analytics reduces privacy risks. However, the absence of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and lack of published security or incident response policies represent areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or malware were detected in the provided content. Incident response contact channels are not explicitly provided, which could hinder rapid reporting and mitigation of security issues. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhanced transparency and technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  2. Add security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  3. Consider providing direct contact emails or phone numbers for security and data protection inquiries to facilitate communication.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure no vulnerabilities are introduced.
  5. Enhance SEO by adding structured data (JSON-LD) for organization and contact information to improve search engine visibility.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Data Protection Authority
Description
The Data Protection Authority ensures compliance with the fundamental principles of data protection.
Key services
Information requests, Mediation requests, Complaint lodging, Publications and recommendations
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Bootstrap (navbar classes), FontAwesome (icons), Plausible.io (privacy-friendly analytics), Flexmail (email marketing integration)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Plausible.io
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Plausible.io
Marketing tools
Flexmail
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is official Belgian Data Protection Authority site targeting citizens and professionals.
  2. Content is comprehensive and well-structured with clear navigation.
  3. Privacy and cookie policies are present and GDPR compliant.
  4. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in HTML; contact is via forms.
  5. No terms of service page detected.
  6. Use of privacy-friendly analytics (Plausible.io) with explicit consent mechanism.
  7. No security policy or incident response information published.
  8. No security headers detected in provided data; SSL is properly configured.
  9. Social media presence on LinkedIn and Twitter.
  10. No advertising or affiliate programs detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on ElasticMS CMS and uses modern front-end technologies including Bootstrap and FontAwesome for UI components and icons. It integrates external services such as Plausible.io for analytics and Flexmail for email marketing. The site is responsive and optimized for mobile devices, with good accessibility features. Performance is moderate, with no major issues detected. The absence of explicit hosting provider information limits deeper infrastructure analysis. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, supporting the Authority's mission effectively. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and structured data implementation to enhance technical robustness and SEO.
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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