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Security report for eidc.ac.uk

Environmental Information Data Centre · Government · United Kingdom

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) operates as a key data management and dissemination service within the UK environmental research sector. Affiliated with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and hosted by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), it manages important terrestrial and freshwater datasets. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand presence, targeting researchers and data depositors with services focused on open science and data accessibility. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager and Font Awesome. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices, although performance is moderate. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear cookie consent mechanisms and a privacy policy, though a formal security policy and incident response information are absent. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of security headers and incident response contacts suggests room for improvement. The domain is long-established, registered directly with Nominet since 1996, consistent with the organization's history and legitimacy. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professional, and well-aligned with its mission, though enhancing security transparency and incident readiness would strengthen its posture further.

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

3 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 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. 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

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
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  • Security headers
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  • 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
50
Email security
80
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
73

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

EIDC holds a strong market position as a government-affiliated environmental data centre, serving the UK research community. Its business model centers on data stewardship and open science facilitation, supporting NERC-funded researchers and environmental scientists. The organization benefits from partnerships with NERC's Environmental Data Service and UKCEH, enhancing its credibility and reach. Revenue streams are likely grant and government-funded, focusing on data services rather than commercial sales. The website's content and structure indicate a medium-sized entity with a clear focus on research data management and impact maximization through open access. Strategically, EIDC leverages certifications like the Core Trust Seal and World Data System membership to build trust. Its partnership ecosystem includes key UK research bodies, positioning it well for continued relevance in environmental data infrastructure. Growth indicators include active user engagement events and support services, though no direct commercial offerings are evident.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the lack of published security policies and incident response contacts limits transparency and preparedness communication. Security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not evident, representing an opportunity to harden defenses against common web attacks. The use of third-party scripts like Google Tag Manager is managed with consent, reducing privacy risks. No signs of malware, phishing, or suspicious domains were found. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by formalizing policies and improving header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Implement additional security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options.
  4. Regularly review and audit third-party scripts and libraries for vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance user trust by displaying certifications and compliance badges more prominently.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Environmental Information Data Centre
Description
The Environmental Information Data Centre (EIDC) is part of the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Environmental Data Service and is hosted by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). It manages nationally-important datasets concerned with terrestrial and freshwater sciences.
Key services
Data cataloguing and access, Data deposit services, Support for data management planning, Impact maximization through open science
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Google Tag Manager, Font Awesome 6
Frameworks
Drupal CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with opt-in mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Google Tag Manager with consent

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is focused on environmental data management and research support.
  3. Strong affiliation with UK government research bodies.
  4. Good privacy and cookie compliance with opt-in consent.
  5. No visible security policy or incident response information.
  6. Use of modern web technologies and CMS (Drupal 10).
  7. No phone numbers or physical addresses explicitly listed on the homepage or footer.
  8. Contact email is info@eidc.ac.uk, consistent with domain.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10, a modern and widely supported CMS, ensuring a solid technical foundation. It uses Google Tag Manager for analytics and tracking, and Font Awesome 6 for iconography. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with responsive design and skip links for screen readers. Performance is moderate, likely due to external script loading and image sizes. No major technical debt or outdated technologies were detected. The site uses canonical links and meta viewport tags for SEO and mobile friendliness. Hosting details are not explicit but likely managed by UKCEH or NERC infrastructure. Opportunities exist to improve performance through optimization of external resources and caching strategies.
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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