Skip to main content

Security report for fernstudium-direkt.de

Fernstudium Direkt · Education · Germany

Medium risk. 4 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

Fernstudium Direkt operates as a leading German online comparison portal specializing in distance learning and continuing education. The platform offers comprehensive information on courses, providers, costs, prerequisites, and user reviews, targeting individuals seeking flexible educational opportunities. It partners with over 120 educational providers, providing a broad catalog of nearly 5,000 courses and 1,200 study programs, positioning itself strongly in the German education market. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10, leveraging modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager and Usercentrics for consent management, ensuring GDPR compliance. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices, fast loading, and accessible, with a professional design and clear navigation enhancing user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and integrates consent-based script loading, but could improve by implementing explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and publishing a security.txt file. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are present and comprehensive, supporting regulatory compliance. Overall, Fernstudium Direkt demonstrates a mature digital presence with strong business credibility and trust indicators. The absence of direct contact emails or phone numbers on the homepage slightly limits immediate contact transparency but is mitigated by extensive social media presence and legal pages. Strategic improvements in security policy transparency and incident response information would further enhance trust and security posture.

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

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. 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 fernstudium-direkt.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

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

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. See sample alerts.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
100
Security headers
40
Email security
80
DNS health
70
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
68
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

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 fernstudium-direkt.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 fernstudium-direkt.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

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

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

Fernstudium Direkt holds a prominent market position as a specialized educational comparison platform in Germany, focusing on distance learning and continuing education. Its business model centers on lead generation and information dissemination, partnering with a wide network of educational providers. The platform benefits from strong user engagement, evidenced by over 35,000 reviews, and recognized certifications from reputable sources like FOCUS-MONEY and HANDELSBLATT. The target customer segment includes adult learners and professionals seeking flexible study options. The company leverages digital marketing tools and analytics to optimize user acquisition and retention. Its membership in the Bundesverband der Fernstudienanbieter further solidifies its industry standing. Growth opportunities include expanding provider partnerships and enhancing direct contact channels.

Security posture

The website exhibits a solid security posture with mandatory HTTPS encryption and integration of a consent management platform to regulate tracking scripts. Security headers are partially implemented, with room for improvement by adding Content-Security-Policy and other advanced headers. No signs of exposed sensitive information or vulnerable libraries were found. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy or incident response contacts limits transparency in security governance. The site’s compliance with GDPR is supported by comprehensive privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be elevated by formalizing vulnerability disclosure processes and publishing security-related documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a Content-Security-Policy header to mitigate cross-site scripting and related attacks.
  2. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  3. Add a publicly accessible security policy outlining security frameworks and incident response procedures.
  4. Provide contact information for a Data Protection Officer or security team to enhance trust and compliance.
  5. Enhance direct contact options on the website to improve user support and transparency.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Fernstudium Direkt
Description
Fernstudium Direkt is a German comparison portal for distance learning and continuing education, offering information on providers, courses, costs, prerequisites, reviews, and study content to help users find suitable distance learning or further education programs.
Key services
Course and provider comparison, Free and non-binding information material ordering, User reviews and ratings, Educational provider rankings and seals
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Google Tag Manager, Google Global Site Tag (gtag.js), Usercentrics Consent Management Platform, Sleeknote
Frameworks
Drupal
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management via Usercentrics
  • Google Tag Manager scripts loaded with consent
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper input types

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads
Tracking pixels
Google Global Site Tag
Marketing tools
Usercentrics CMP, Sleeknote
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 rich content and no blocking.
  2. Strong focus on education and distance learning comparison.
  3. Good use of modern web technologies and consent management.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage HTML.
  5. Social media presence is strong across multiple platforms.
  6. Security headers could be improved with CSP and security.txt.
  7. WHOIS data is minimal but consistent with hosting provider.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 10, a modern and widely supported CMS, ensuring a robust and scalable infrastructure. It uses Google Tag Manager and Usercentrics for analytics and consent management, reflecting a mature approach to privacy and data collection. The site is hosted on infrastructure associated with domaincontrol.com, likely GoDaddy, indicating reliable hosting. Performance is optimized with preloading of fonts and images, lazy loading, and responsive design. Accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA live regions are present, supporting inclusive user experience. The technical stack is modern and well-implemented, though security headers could be enhanced to reduce risk exposure.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with fernstudium-direkt.de. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review fernstudium-direkt.de.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.