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Security report for ffii.org

Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure e.V. · Technology · Germany

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 3 other checks.

Security score

50/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is a well-established European non-profit organization advocating against software patents and promoting open standards and free software since 1999. It operates primarily in the technology policy sector, targeting software developers, civil society, and policymakers. The organization is recognized for its influential role in preventing the EU software patent directive and continues active engagement through events, working groups, and public education. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern theme and plugins such as Contact Form 7 and Jetpack, supported by Google reCAPTCHA for form security. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, SEO practices, and moderate performance. Hosting is managed by Gandi SAS, a reputable registrar and hosting provider. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and employs cookie consent mechanisms compliant with GDPR. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and some security headers like Content-Security-Policy are missing, representing areas for improvement. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which could enhance trust and security posture. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and content-rich, with a strong focus on advocacy and community engagement. Strategic recommendations include enhancing DNS security, publishing security policies, and improving HTTP security headers to strengthen the security posture and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

8 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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. 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 ffii.org

This scan found 26 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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
40
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
80
Average
50

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

FFII holds a strong market position as a niche non-profit advocacy group in the European technology policy landscape. Its competitive advantage lies in its long history, recognized contributions, and active partnerships with European Parliament members and civil society organizations. The business model relies on membership fees and donations, with a clear focus on advocacy and education rather than commercial revenue. The organization targets software developers, policymakers, and activists concerned with software patents and digital rights. Growth indicators include active chapters in multiple countries and ongoing event participation. The partnership ecosystem includes related organizations promoting open standards and digital freedoms.

Security posture

The security maturity of the FFII website is moderate to good. HTTPS is enforced, and forms are protected with Google reCAPTCHA, reducing spam and abuse risks. Cookie consent mechanisms align with GDPR requirements, demonstrating privacy awareness. However, the absence of DNSSEC and some key security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options indicate room for improvement. The lack of a published security or incident response policy limits transparency and preparedness for security incidents. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected, indicating sound basic security hygiene. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a non-profit advocacy site but could be enhanced with additional measures.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and security.
  2. Implement a Content-Security-Policy header to mitigate cross-site scripting and related attacks.
  3. Publish a security.txt file or a dedicated security policy page to facilitate vulnerability reporting and incident response.
  4. Add additional security headers such as X-Content-Type-Options and Referrer-Policy to strengthen HTTP security.
  5. Consider publishing terms of service and incident response policies to improve legal clarity and trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure e.V.
Description
The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) is a European alliance defending the right to free and competitive software creation since 1999. It works towards mitigating legal risks in software development by keeping software free from patents and promoting open standards and free hardware/software.
Key services
Advocacy against software patents, Educational events and presentations, Research and public awareness on IP and software patent issues, Organizing and participating in working groups and campaigns
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Contact Form 7, Jetpack, Largo WordPress Theme, Google reCAPTCHA v3
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with opt-out mechanism
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA v3 on forms
  • No exposed sensitive data found

Analytics and tracking

Services
Jetpack Stats
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Jetpack Stats (stats.wp.com), WordPress.com tracking
Marketing tools
Jetpack Subscriptions, Google reCAPTCHA
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-established non-profit advocacy group focused on software patents and open standards.
  2. Content is rich, relevant, and updated with recent blog posts.
  3. Uses WordPress CMS with common plugins and themes.
  4. Good privacy and cookie compliance with visible consent mechanism.
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers publicly listed; contact via form only.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  7. No terms of service page found.
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy found.
  9. DNSSEC not enabled, which is a minor security gap.
  10. No major security issues detected; HTTPS enforced.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a standard WordPress CMS with a Largo theme and common plugins like Contact Form 7 and Jetpack. It leverages jQuery and Google reCAPTCHA v3 for enhanced user interaction and form security. The site is hosted with Gandi SAS, a reputable provider, and uses HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate. Performance is moderate, with good mobile responsiveness and basic accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. The technical stack is modern and appropriate for a non-profit advocacy website, though some security enhancements could be made to reduce technical risks.
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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