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Security report for dkfz.de

Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum · Healthcare · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) is Germany's largest biomedical cancer research institution, employing over 3,000 staff and funded primarily by the federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg. The website reflects a mature and professional digital presence, showcasing extensive cancer research activities, translational centers, and public information services. Technically, the site is built on TYPO3 CMS with modern web standards, responsive design, and optimized images, providing a good user experience across devices. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and nonce usage, but lacks some security headers and explicit incident response contacts. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the site is trustworthy and authoritative but would benefit from enhanced transparency and security best practices.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of dkfz.de. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
28/ 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

4 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.

    • Critical

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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 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

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Keep watching dkfz.de

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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
75
Email security
60
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
28
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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention dkfz.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
820
Employees
0
Customers
795
Third parties
25
Weak passwords
35%

21 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for dkfz.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

DKFZ holds a leading position in cancer research within Germany and Europe, supported by government funding and partnerships with university hospitals. Its business model is non-profit and research-focused, targeting scientists, patients, and the public. The institution offers key services including cancer biology research, risk factor analysis, clinical translation, and public education. The website supports these goals with detailed content, structured navigation, and multilingual support. DKFZ's ecosystem includes translational centers and consortia, indicating a broad collaborative network. The absence of direct contact emails or phone numbers on the homepage suggests a controlled communication approach.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS and uses nonce attributes for scripts, indicating awareness of security best practices. However, the lack of common security headers such as HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response information is provided, which could hinder timely reporting and resolution of security issues. Tracking is minimal and internal, reducing privacy risks. Overall, the security posture is good but can be improved by implementing additional headers, publishing security policies, and providing clear incident contacts.

Recommendations

  1. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with GDPR-compliant consent mechanisms.
  2. Implement and configure security headers including HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options.
  3. Create and expose a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting.
  4. Provide explicit incident response contact information on the website.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools for security and privacy compliance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum
Description
Das Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) ist mit mehr als 3.000 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern die größte biomedizinische Forschungseinrichtung in Deutschland. Über 1000 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler erforschen im DKFZ, wie Krebs entsteht, erfassen Krebsrisikofaktoren und suchen nach neuen Strategien, die verhindern, dass Menschen an Krebs erkranken. Sie entwickeln neue Methoden, mit denen Tumoren präziser diagnostiziert und Krebspatienten erfolgreicher behandelt werden können. Die Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter des Krebsinformationsdienstes (KID) klären Betroffene, Angehörige und interessierte Bürger über die Volkskrankheit Krebs auf. Gemeinsam mit dem Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg hat das DKFZ das Nationale Centrum für Tumorerkrankungen (NCT) Heidelberg eingerichtet, in dem vielversprechende Ansätze aus der Krebsforschung in die Klinik übertragen werden. Im Deutschen Konsortium für Translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK), einem der sechs Deutschen Zentren für Gesundheitsforschung, unterhält das DKFZ Translationszentren an sieben universitären Partnerstandorten. Die Verbindung von exzellenter Hochschulmedizin mit der hochkarätigen Forschung eines Helmholtz-Zentrums ist ein wichtiger Beitrag, um die Chancen von Krebspatienten zu verbessern. Das DKFZ wird zu 90 Prozent vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung und zu 10 Prozent vom Land Baden-Württemberg finanziert und ist Mitglied in der Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft deutscher Forschungszentren.
Key services
Cancer research, Cancer risk factor analysis, Development of diagnostic and treatment methods, Cancer information service (KID), Clinical translation via Nationales Centrum für Tumorerkrankungen (NCT), Translational research centers (DKTK)
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
TYPO3 CMS, JavaScript, CSS, WebP images
Frameworks
TYPO3 CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Use of nonce attributes on scripts
  • Content Security Policy hints (nonce usage)

Analytics and tracking

Services
statistik.dkfz.de
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Tracking pixels
statistik.dkfz.de
Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is comprehensive and professionally presented in German with English alternate.
  3. Strong institutional branding and government affiliation.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie policies found on the main page or linked navigation.
  5. Contact information is primarily via contact page; no direct emails or phone numbers found in HTML.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and responsive design.
  7. Limited security headers detected; opportunity for improvement.
  8. No visible vulnerability disclosure or incident response contacts.
  9. Minimal tracking via internal analytics domain.
Technical notes

Notes

The DKFZ website uses TYPO3 CMS, a robust open-source content management system, with modern front-end technologies including CSS and JavaScript modules. Images are optimized using WebP format and responsive techniques. The site is mobile-optimized with good accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA labels. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich content and media. The technical infrastructure appears well-maintained but could benefit from enhanced security headers and more transparent privacy controls. No hosting provider details were found in the HTML, but DNS indicates use of regional name servers consistent with institutional hosting.
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. 68/100Medium30 findingsView report
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