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Security report for exist.de

exist – From science to business · Government · Germany

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

79/100

Risk levelLow

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

exist is a German government-backed program under the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE) that supports university graduates, scientists, and students in preparing technology-oriented and knowledge-based startups. Established in 1998, it offers multiple funding and support programs such as the exist Gründungsstipendium, exist Women, and exist Forschungstransfer, aiming to foster a vibrant startup culture and increase successful technology spin-offs from academia. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand presence with clear communication of its services and goals. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern plugins and uses Matomo analytics for privacy-conscious tracking. Security posture is good with HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms, though some security headers could be improved. No critical vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected. Overall, the site demonstrates strong business credibility and compliance with GDPR, serving as a trustworthy resource for its target audience.

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

2 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. 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 exist.de

This scan found 18 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
82
Security headers
65
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
95
Average
79

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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention exist.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
4
Employees
0
Customers
4
Third parties
0
Weak passwords
50%

2 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for exist.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The exist program occupies a strong position as a government initiative fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in Germany's academic sector. Its business model revolves around public funding and competitive grants to support technology startups. The program targets university graduates, researchers, and students, providing financial aid, mentoring, and networking opportunities. Partnerships with related initiatives like Startup Factories and the GCCC enhance its ecosystem. The website's content and structure indicate a mature, well-established operation with a clear focus on technology and education sectors. The absence of commercial advertising and affiliate programs aligns with its government-funded nature.

Security posture

The website maintains a solid security posture with enforced HTTPS, a GDPR-compliant cookie consent banner, and use of privacy-respecting analytics (Matomo). However, explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly disclosed, which could be improved for transparency. The lack of certain security headers (Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options) suggests room for enhancement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the site appears secure for its purpose but would benefit from formalized security documentation and headers.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and verify comprehensive security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Publish a security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  3. Consider adding a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosures.
  4. Maintain regular updates of WordPress core and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance accessibility features and conduct periodic security audits.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
exist – From science to business
Description
exist unterstützt Hochschulabsolventinnen und -absolventen, Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler sowie Studierende bei der Vorbereitung ihrer technologieorientierten und wissensbasierten Existenzgründungen.
Key services
exist Gründungsstipendium, exist Women, exist Forschungstransfer, exist Startup Factories, exist Modellprojekte, GCCC – Globale Zertifizierungs- und Beratungsstelle
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.3, PHP, Matomo Analytics, Complianz GDPR Cookie Consent, Blocksy Theme, Stackable Gutenberg Blocks, TranslatePress Multilingual
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with opt-in mechanism
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Matomo for privacy-respecting analytics

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a government-backed program supporting technology startups from academia in Germany.
  2. Content is comprehensive and well-structured with multiple program offerings.
  3. Strong privacy and cookie compliance with opt-in consent mechanism.
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  5. Social media presence on LinkedIn and YouTube supports transparency and outreach.
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response information publicly available.
  7. No terms of service page detected.
  8. Website uses modern WordPress CMS with several plugins for functionality and compliance.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by WordPress 6.8.3 with a modern theme (Blocksy) and several plugins including Complianz for GDPR compliance, TranslatePress for multilingual support, and Stackable for Gutenberg blocks. Hosting is managed via Managed IP name servers. The site uses Matomo for analytics, favoring privacy over commercial trackers. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO practices evident from meta tags and structured data. The site is well-structured with clear navigation and multilingual support. Technical risks are minimal but could be reduced further by improving security headers and formalizing security policies.
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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