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Security report for ffi.no

Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt (FFI) · Government · Norway

Low risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

79/100

Risk levelLow

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

Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt (FFI) is the Norwegian defense sector's dedicated research institution, specializing in applied research and development to ensure an effective and relevant defense, a secure society, and a competitive defense industry. The organization operates primarily on project-based funding from the Norwegian Armed Forces and related sectors, delivering services such as contract research, advisory, analysis, and product development. The website reflects a professional and comprehensive digital presence, targeting government stakeholders, defense industry partners, researchers, and the public. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Google Fonts, Vimeo API, and Siteimprove Analytics, with responsive design and accessibility features. The platform appears custom-built, likely managed by Bouvet, a Norwegian IT consultancy. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO practices. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, includes a cookie consent mechanism, and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, explicit security headers and published security policies or incident response information are absent, representing areas for improvement. The WHOIS data is unavailable, which reduces transparency but does not detract from the site's legitimacy given its official .no domain and government affiliation. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professionally maintained, and compliant with privacy regulations, making it a reliable source for defense research information. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, publishing security policies, and improving domain registration transparency.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

  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

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  • 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
72
Security headers
80
Email security
98
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

FFI holds a critical position as Norway's primary defense research institution, bridging the military, scientific community, and defense industry. Its business model is project-driven, with a strong focus on applied research tailored to practical defense needs. The organization benefits from stable government funding and collaborates closely with multiple stakeholders, including ministries, industry, and international partners. The website's content and structure support transparency and outreach, targeting defense professionals, policymakers, and the public. The presence on major social media platforms enhances engagement and dissemination of research outputs. Growth indicators include active project portfolios and innovation centers. The lack of WHOIS data is a minor anomaly but does not impact operational credibility.

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 information were detected in the HTML or scripts. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options suggests room for hardening. No published security or incident response policies limit transparency for security researchers and stakeholders. The site does not provide a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file, which are best practices for government-related entities. Overall, the security posture is good but could be improved to meet higher standards and compliance frameworks.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a formal security policy and incident response information on the website to improve transparency and preparedness.
  3. Establish a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Investigate and clarify domain WHOIS data availability to improve domain registration transparency and trust.
  5. Continue maintaining GDPR compliance and enhance user privacy controls where possible.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt (FFI)
Description
FFI driver anvendt forskning og utvikling for at Norge skal ha et effektivt og relevant forsvar, et sikkert samfunn og en konkurransedyktig forsvarsindustri.
Key services
Oppdragsforskning (Contract research), Rådgiving (Advisory services), Analyser (Analyses), Beredskapslaboratorium (Emergency preparedness laboratory), Produktutvikling, test og verifikasjon (Product development, testing, and verification), Innovasjonssenter (Innovation center), Forskningfartøyet «H.U. Sverdrup II» (Research vessel)
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Google Fonts (Roboto), Vimeo Player API, Siteimprove Analytics, CSS with preloading and responsive images
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by https URLs)
  • Cookie consent banner implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected in scripts

Analytics and tracking

Services
Siteimprove Analytics
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Siteimprove Analytics
Transparency
basic

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 detected
  2. Content is professionally presented and highly relevant to Norwegian defense research
  3. Strong presence of privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms
  4. WHOIS data is unavailable, limiting domain registration transparency
  5. No explicit security policy or incident response information published
  6. Social media presence on major platforms with official accounts
  7. No advertising or affiliate marketing detected
  8. Use of modern web technologies and responsive design
  9. No adult or questionable content detected
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern technology stack with custom JavaScript and CSS assets, leveraging Google Fonts and Vimeo for media content. The use of Siteimprove Analytics indicates attention to quality and accessibility monitoring. The platform appears custom or proprietary, likely developed by Bouvet, a Norwegian IT consultancy. Performance is moderate with responsive images and mobile-friendly design. No CMS like WordPress or Drupal was detected, suggesting a tailored solution. The site uses asynchronous script loading to optimize performance. Opportunities exist to improve technical SEO and security header implementation. Hosting provider details are not explicit from the content.
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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