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Security report for eua-cde.org

European University Association · Education · Belgium

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

60/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The EUA Council for Doctoral Education (EUA-CDE) is a prominent European academic network dedicated to advancing doctoral education and research training. Established in 2017 and headquartered in Belgium, it serves as the largest community of academic leaders and professionals in this sector across Europe. The organization focuses on fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and influencing policy at the European level. Their services include organizing events, publishing reports, and maintaining an active community of over 287 members from 39 countries. The website reflects a professional and well-structured platform with consistent branding and relevant content tailored to its academic audience. Technically, the website employs a modern technology stack including Joomla CMS, Bootstrap framework, jQuery libraries, and integrates marketing and analytics tools such as HubSpot, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager. The site is hosted by Combell and uses HTTPS with good SSL configuration, ensuring secure communications. Mobile optimization and SEO practices are well implemented, although accessibility features could be enhanced. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices such as HTTPS enforcement and use of Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise for form protection. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and no explicit security policies or vulnerability disclosures are present. Privacy compliance is partial, with a cookie consent mechanism in place but lacking a clearly accessible privacy policy or terms of service. No critical vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected. Overall, EUA-CDE presents a trustworthy and credible online presence aligned with its mission as a non-profit academic network. Strategic recommendations include publishing comprehensive privacy and security policies, enabling DNSSEC, and enhancing accessibility compliance to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of eua-cde.org. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 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 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

  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 eua-cde.org

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.

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

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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
62
Security headers
40
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
83
Average
60

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

EUA-CDE occupies a leading position in the European doctoral education sector, leveraging its extensive network of universities and academic institutions. Its business model is centered on community building, knowledge exchange, and policy advocacy rather than commercial revenue generation. The organization benefits from partnerships with numerous European universities and research bodies, enhancing its influence and reach. Growth indicators include active event hosting, regular publication of reports, and engagement with early-career researchers. The website supports these activities by providing up-to-date news, a directory of members, and resources. The absence of direct commercial elements aligns with its non-profit status, focusing on educational impact and policy influence.

Security posture

The website's security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and integration of advanced bot protection via Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise. The use of reputable analytics and marketing platforms is balanced with a cookie consent mechanism, indicating awareness of privacy concerns. However, the lack of DNSSEC and absence of published security policies or incident response contacts represent areas for improvement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were identified in the HTML content. The site would benefit from implementing additional HTTP security headers and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy to enhance transparency and readiness. Overall, the security maturity is moderate to good, suitable for the organization's profile but with room for enhancement.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service accessible from the homepage.
  2. Enable DNSSEC to improve domain name system security and prevent spoofing.
  3. Implement and verify HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options.
  4. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Enhance website accessibility features to comply with standards and improve user experience.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
European University Association
Description
The largest European network in doctoral education, bringing together a community of academic leaders and professionals
Key services
Networking and community building, Events and activities, Reports and publications, Policy advocacy
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Bootstrap, HubSpot scripts, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, ShareThis, jQuery Mousewheel, jQuery mCustomScrollbar, Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
HubSpot (marketing and forms)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise on forms
  • No DNSSEC (not enabled)
  • No exposed sensitive data found in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, HubSpot Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
HubSpot Analytics, ShareThis
Marketing tools
HubSpot, ShareThis
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional academic network for doctoral education in Europe
  2. Content is rich with news, events, and community information
  3. Use of multiple modern web technologies and analytics tools
  4. No privacy policy or terms of service explicitly found
  5. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented
  6. WHOIS data is consistent and domain is well-established
  7. No security incidents or vulnerabilities publicly disclosed
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Joomla CMS with Bootstrap framework and jQuery libraries, indicating a mature and maintainable technical foundation. Integration with HubSpot and Google marketing tools shows a modern approach to user engagement and analytics. Hosting by Combell provides reliable infrastructure. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, especially in loading external scripts. Mobile responsiveness is good, supporting a wide range of devices. SEO is well addressed through meta tags and structured navigation. Technical risks are low, but the absence of DNSSEC and some security headers could be addressed to reduce attack surface. Overall, the technical implementation supports the business goals effectively.
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. 60/100Medium31 findingsView report
  2. 60/100Medium31 findingsView report
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