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Security report for ebn.eu

EBN (European Business and Innovation Centre Network) · Other · Belgium

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

EBN (European Business and Innovation Centre Network) is a well-established non-profit organization that operates a pan-European innovation community focused on certifying and supporting startups, SMEs, and entrepreneurial innovators. The website presents EBN as a leading innovation partner network with over 175 members and 630+ business experts across more than 35 countries. Their key services include the EU|BIC quality certification label, industry best practices, project participation, skills training, and expert support. The organization targets innovation ecosystems, business support organizations, and regional development actors. Technically, the website is built on WordPress 6.8.1 with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Swiper.js, Google reCAPTCHA, and GDPR-compliant cookie management via Complianz. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with good performance and consistent branding. Hosting and domain registration are managed by Combell NV, a reputable registrar. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, uses reCAPTCHA on forms, and manages cookie consent properly. While some security headers are not explicitly visible in the HTML, the overall posture is good with no exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries detected. Privacy compliance is strong, with a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism. Contact information is clearly provided, including email, phone, physical address, and social media links. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, with no signs of blocking or WAF interference. It scores highly on content quality, technical implementation, security posture, privacy compliance, and business credibility, making it a reliable and authoritative source in its domain.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

5 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. 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

  3. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

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

Keep watching ebn.eu

This scan found 19 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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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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
95
Security headers
15
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
80
Average
63

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

EBN holds a strong market position as Europe’s leading innovation partner network, leveraging a community-driven business model focused on certification and support services for startups and SMEs. Their competitive advantage lies in the official EU|BIC certification, which is uniquely granted by EBN and recognized by the European Commission. Revenue streams likely include membership fees, certification fees, training programs, and project participation. The target customer segments include innovation centers, business incubators, startups, SMEs, and regional development agencies. Growth indicators include a large and expanding membership base, active participation in international projects, and a strong presence in over 35 countries. The partnership ecosystem is robust, with collaborations across business experts, corporates, and innovation stakeholders. Strategic observations highlight EBN’s role as a trusted certifier and facilitator of innovation ecosystems, with a focus on sustainable economic development and entrepreneurship.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS encryption and the use of Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms from automated abuse. Cookie consent is managed via a GDPR-compliant plugin, indicating awareness of privacy regulations. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, some standard security headers like X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options are not explicitly visible and should be verified at the server level. There is no published security policy or incident response contact information, which could enhance transparency and readiness. Overall, the security measures align well with industry best practices for a non-profit organization operating a public-facing website.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and verify security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against clickjacking and MIME sniffing.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and provide incident response contact channels (e.g., security@ or abuse@ email addresses) to improve transparency and trust.
  3. Maintain regular updates of WordPress core, themes, and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  4. Conduct periodic security audits and penetration testing to proactively identify and remediate risks.
  5. Enhance data retention policies disclosure related to analytics and marketing tools to strengthen privacy compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
EBN (European Business and Innovation Centre Network)
Description
EBN is a non-profit organization facilitating a pan-European and global community of certified EU|BICs and associate members focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and regional economic development. It grants and manages the EU|BIC certification and provides innovation solutions and business support services to startups, spin-offs, and SMEs.
Key services
EU|BIC quality certification label, Industry best-practices, Project participation, Skills building training, Dedicated expert team
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.1, jQuery 3.7.1, Swiper.js, Google reCAPTCHA v2/v3, Mailin (Sendinblue) integration, Complianz GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, FontAwesome icons, Google Maps API
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA on forms
  • Cookie consent management with Complianz plugin
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
WonderPush (push notifications), Sendinblue (email marketing)
Marketing tools
Sendinblue, WonderPush
Transparency
good

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 rich, professional, and well-structured.
  3. Strong focus on innovation ecosystem and certification services.
  4. Good privacy and cookie compliance with visible consent mechanisms.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and security best practices.
  6. Clear contact information and social media presence.
  7. No signs of suspicious or malicious activity.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern and widely supported CMS platform, WordPress 6.8.1, utilizing popular libraries such as jQuery and Swiper.js for UI interactions and responsiveness. Integration with Google reCAPTCHA and Sendinblue (Mailin) for email marketing demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure. The use of Complianz GDPR plugin ensures cookie compliance and consent management. Hosting is managed by Combell NV, a reputable provider. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and structured navigation. Technical risks are minimal, but continuous monitoring and updates are recommended to avoid technical debt and security vulnerabilities.
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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