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Security report for gerit.org

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. · Education · Germany

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Email security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

58/100

Risk levelMedium

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

GERiT is a comprehensive information portal operated by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in partnership with DAAD and HRK, providing detailed data on over 33,000 German research institutions. It serves students and researchers domestically and internationally, offering institutional profiles, job listings, doctoral program information, and links to DFG-funded projects. The portal is bilingual and well-structured, reflecting a mature digital presence. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies including React and integrates search capabilities via Apache Lucene/Solr. It employs Google Maps API for geolocation features and maintains good mobile responsiveness and accessibility standards. While no explicit CMS is detected, the platform appears custom-built for its specialized content. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent implemented, though improvements could be made by enabling DNSSEC and adding security headers. No vulnerabilities or malicious content were detected. Privacy compliance is strong, with a clear and comprehensive privacy policy and cookie management. Overall, GERiT represents a trustworthy, authoritative resource in the German academic research sector. Strategic recommendations include enhancing DNS security, publishing a formal security policy, and adding vulnerability disclosure mechanisms to further strengthen trust and security.

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

7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. 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';…

  3. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching gerit.org

This scan found 28 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
67
Security headers
15
Email security
40
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
58

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 gerit.org, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for gerit.org right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

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

GERiT occupies a key niche as the official directory and information portal for German research institutions, backed by the DFG and its partners. Its business model is non-commercial, focusing on transparency and accessibility of research data to support academic mobility and research marketing. The portal's extensive dataset and partnerships with major German research organizations position it as a central hub for research-related information. Growth potential lies in expanding data integrations and enhancing user engagement through additional services such as job matching or research analytics. The partnership ecosystem includes DAAD and HRK, enhancing credibility and reach. The portal supports the German research ecosystem by providing unique identifiers and structured data, aligning with national research data standards. Revenue streams are likely public funding and institutional support rather than direct monetization.

Security posture

GERiT demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced site-wide and a cookie consent mechanism compliant with GDPR. The absence of DNSSEC is a minor gap in DNS security. No security headers were detected in the provided data, suggesting room for improvement in mitigating clickjacking, XSS, and other web attacks. There is no published security policy or incident response contact, which could hinder transparency and trust in case of security incidents. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the content analysis. The site does not appear to use third-party trackers or advertising networks, reducing privacy risks. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by adopting recommended HTTP security headers, publishing a security policy, and establishing a vulnerability disclosure process.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and security.
  2. Implement and configure HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  4. Establish a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Continue maintaining GDPR compliance and enhance transparency around data processing and retention.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V.
VAT number
DE122276357
Registration number
VR 2030 (Vereinsregister Bonn)
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V.
Description
GERiT is an information portal on German research institutions provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in partnership with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK). It offers an overview of approximately 33,000 research institutions in Germany, including profiles, job vacancies, doctoral regulations, and links to DFG-funded projects.
Key services
Research institution directory, Search by subject, location, and institution type, Links to job vacancies and doctoral opportunities, Access to DFG-funded project information
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React (react-autosuggest), Apache Lucene / Solr (search backend), Google Maps API, CSS stylesheets, JavaScript
Frameworks
React
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of consent mechanism for cookies

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-maintained academic information portal.
  2. Operated by a reputable German research funding organization (DFG).
  3. Content is bilingual (German and English) and comprehensive.
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity.
  5. Good privacy and cookie consent mechanisms in place.
  6. No visible security policy or incident response info.
  7. No advertising or tracking services detected.
  8. No WAF or blocking detected; content fully accessible.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using React with client-side rendering components such as react-autosuggest for search input. The backend search functionality is powered by Apache Lucene with Solr interface, indicating a robust search infrastructure. Google Maps API is used for geospatial visualization of research institutions. CSS is modular and responsive, supporting good mobile usability. No commercial CMS detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Performance appears moderate with deferred script loading and optimized CSS imports. Accessibility features such as ARIA roles and keyboard navigation hints are present. SEO is supported by meta descriptions and structured language tags. Hosting details are not explicit but DNS uses DFN name servers, indicating hosting within a German research network or trusted provider.
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. 58/100Medium37 findingsView report
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