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Security report for dlr.de

Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) · Energy · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) is Germany's national research center for aerospace, energy, transportation, and security. It operates as a large, government-affiliated research institution with a strong market position in engineering sciences. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content, modern technology stack including React and Plone CMS, and good mobile and accessibility features. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and security headers, though explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies including consent mechanisms. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism and trustworthiness, serving a broad audience including researchers, industry partners, and the public.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
95/ 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

4 findings 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 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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';…

  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 dlr.de

This scan found 23 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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
95
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

DLR holds a leading position in aerospace and related research sectors in Germany and Europe. Its business model focuses on research and development, project management, and acting as a national space agency. The institution collaborates extensively with national and international partners, providing innovation and technology transfer services. The website's content and structure support these roles, targeting scientific communities, industry stakeholders, and policy makers. The presence of multiple social media channels and event listings indicates active engagement and outreach. No direct revenue streams are visible, consistent with a public research entity.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and standard security headers, indicating a solid baseline security posture. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Forms appear to be managed securely via the Plone CMS platform. However, the absence of a dedicated security policy page or vulnerability disclosure program limits transparency. Incident response contact information is not explicitly provided, which could be improved to enhance security readiness and trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Provide explicit contact channels for security incidents, such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and analytics tools to ensure no vulnerabilities are introduced.
  5. Enhance documentation on data retention and privacy practices to strengthen GDPR compliance signals.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
DLR e.V.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Description
Das Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) ist das Forschungszentrum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland für Luft- und Raumfahrt. Es betreibt Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeiten in den Bereichen Luftfahrt, Raumfahrt, Energie, Verkehr und Sicherheit, eingebunden in nationale und internationale Kooperationen.
Key services
Forschung und Entwicklung in Luftfahrt, Forschung und Entwicklung in Raumfahrt, Energie- und Verkehrsforschung, Sicherheitsforschung, Projektträgerfunktionen, Deutsche Raumfahrtagentur
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Plone CMS, Matomo Analytics
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with CSRF protection implied by CMS

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Matomo
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content in German language.
  2. Strong focus on aerospace, energy, transportation, and security research.
  3. Comprehensive navigation with multiple sections and submenus.
  4. Presence of official contact information and legal notices.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and CMS (Plone, React).
  6. Social media presence on multiple reputable platforms.
  7. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  8. Good privacy and cookie policy implementation with consent mechanisms.
  9. No explicit security policy or incident response page found.
  10. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack featuring React for frontend interactivity and Plone CMS for content management. It uses Matomo for analytics, indicating a preference for privacy-respecting tools. The site is well-structured with semantic HTML and accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA labels. Performance is moderate, with preloading of key assets and responsive images. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly with comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph data. No significant technical debt or outdated technologies were observed, suggesting good maintenance and modernization practices.
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. 54/100Medium27 findingsView report
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