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Security report for eua-cde.org

EUA Council for Doctoral Education · 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) operates as the largest European network dedicated to doctoral education, uniting academic leaders and professionals across more than 30 countries. The organization focuses on community building, hosting thematic workshops and events, publishing reports, and advocating for doctoral education policies at the European level. The website reflects a mature and professional academic network with consistent branding and a clear mission to enhance doctoral education and research training in Europe. Technically, the website is built on Joomla CMS, leveraging Bootstrap for responsive design and jQuery for interactivity. It integrates multiple third-party services including Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot marketing and analytics tools, ShareThis social sharing, and Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise for form security. Hosting is provided by Combell, a reputable European hosting provider. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, SEO practices, and moderate performance. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with appropriate security headers and uses reCAPTCHA to protect forms. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and there is no publicly available security policy or incident response contact information. Privacy compliance is partial, with a cookie consent mechanism present but no explicit privacy or terms of service pages found. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the website presents a trustworthy and professional front for an academic network, with room for improvement in privacy transparency and security disclosures. Strategic recommendations include publishing comprehensive privacy and security policies, enabling DNSSEC, and enhancing accessibility features to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

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 holds a strong market position as the leading European network for doctoral education, serving academic leaders and professionals. Its business model is non-profit and community-focused, providing value through events, publications, and policy advocacy. The network's partnerships with over 230 universities and presence in 39 countries indicate a broad and influential ecosystem. Growth indicators include active event hosting and recent news updates. The organization leverages digital marketing and analytics tools to engage its audience, though direct contact information is limited. The website content and structure support its mission to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange in doctoral education.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers implemented. The use of Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise enhances protection against automated abuse. No signs of malware, phishing, or exposed credentials were found. However, the absence of DNSSEC and lack of published security policies or incident response contacts represent gaps in security transparency and resilience. The site uses several third-party scripts, which should be regularly audited to mitigate supply chain risks. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by formalizing security governance and incident response mechanisms.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service to improve transparency and GDPR compliance.
  2. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  3. Create and publish a security policy including incident response contact details to build trust and readiness.
  4. Conduct regular security audits of third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Improve website accessibility to ensure compliance with standards and enhance user experience for all visitors.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
EUA Council for Doctoral Education
Description
The largest European network in doctoral education, bringing together a community of academic leaders and professionals
Key services
Community building, Events and workshops, Reports and publications, Advocacy on European policy level
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Bootstrap, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, HubSpot, jQuery Mousewheel, jQuery mCustomScrollbar, ShareThis, Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
HubSpot
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data 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 site focused on doctoral education in Europe
  2. Content is rich with events, news, and community information
  3. No privacy policy or terms of service pages explicitly found
  4. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented
  5. Multiple external analytics and marketing scripts used
  6. No security or privacy contact emails found
  7. WHOIS data shows domain is registered with a reputable registrar and is not privacy protected
  8. Site uses Joomla CMS with Bootstrap and jQuery
  9. Site is mobile optimized and has good SEO practices
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Joomla CMS with Bootstrap framework and jQuery libraries, indicating a mature but somewhat traditional technology stack. Integration with HubSpot and Google marketing tools shows digital marketing sophistication. Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of analytics and marketing scripts. Mobile optimization is good, supported by responsive design. SEO is well addressed with meta tags and structured navigation. Technical risks include reliance on multiple third-party scripts and lack of DNSSEC. The site would benefit from modernization efforts focusing on accessibility, performance optimization, and enhanced security configurations.
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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