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Security report for hdg.de

Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland · Government · Germany

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland operates as a non-profit foundation dedicated to educating the public about German contemporary history since 1945. It manages four museums located in Bonn, Berlin, and Leipzig, alongside a comprehensive online portal offering audio guides and digital exhibitions. The foundation positions itself as a leading cultural and educational institution in Germany, providing free access to its resources and fostering historical awareness among a broad audience including researchers, students, and general visitors. Technically, the website is built on TYPO3 CMS with modern frontend technologies such as Bootstrap 4, jQuery, and various JavaScript libraries for enhanced user experience. Hosting appears to be managed by Deutsche Telekom, ensuring reliable infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with a well-structured navigation system and professional design. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, employs cookie consent mechanisms compliant with GDPR, and uses Matomo analytics for privacy-conscious user tracking. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly available, representing an area for improvement. Overall, the website demonstrates a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and compliance with privacy regulations, making it a reliable digital presence for the foundation. Strategic recommendations include publishing detailed security policies, establishing a vulnerability disclosure program, and enhancing incident response transparency to further strengthen security posture and stakeholder trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 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

3 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. 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 hdg.de

This scan found 24 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.

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Recommended

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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
62
Security headers
40
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
69

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

The foundation operates in the government and non-profit sectors, focusing on cultural heritage and education. Its market position is strong within Germany as a primary institution for contemporary history exhibitions and digital history dissemination. The business model centers on public service with free admission and online access, supported likely by government funding. Key services include museum exhibitions, online educational content, and audio guides. The target audience spans general public, educators, and researchers. The foundation maintains a consistent brand and leverages social media channels for outreach. No parent or subsidiary companies were identified, indicating an independent organizational structure. The website content and infrastructure reflect a mature digital strategy aligned with its mission.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, cookie consent aligned with GDPR, and use of privacy-respecting analytics (Matomo). Security headers are partially present, and no sensitive data leakage or vulnerable libraries were observed. However, the absence of a public security policy, incident response contact, and vulnerability disclosure mechanism indicates gaps in transparency and readiness. These gaps could impact stakeholder confidence and incident handling effectiveness. The site’s security score is good but could be improved by formalizing security governance documentation and communication channels.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information, such as a security@ or abuse@ email address.
  3. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance transparency around data protection officer contact details and data handling procedures.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Description
Die Stiftung vermittelt deutsche Zeitgeschichte nach 1945 in vier Museen in Bonn, Berlin und Leipzig sowie im Internet. Eintritt und Angebote sind kostenfrei.
Key services
Museum exhibitions in Bonn, Berlin, Leipzig, Online history portal, AudioGuides, Educational programs
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
TYPO3 CMS, jQuery, Bootstrap 4, Slick Carousel, Swiper, projekktor video player, Matomo Analytics
Frameworks
TYPO3 CMS, Bootstrap 4
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with opt-in/out
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Matomo Analytics
Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is comprehensive and professionally presented in German with English option.
  3. Strong focus on history education and museum services.
  4. Good privacy and cookie consent mechanisms implemented.
  5. No visible security or privacy red flags.
  6. Social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter.
  7. Use of Matomo analytics for privacy-respecting tracking.
  8. Multiple museum locations and online resources clearly presented.
  9. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable scripts detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a robust TYPO3 CMS platform with modern frontend technologies including Bootstrap 4, jQuery, and specialized libraries for media and UI components. Hosting is stable and likely provided by Deutsche Telekom, ensuring good availability. Performance is moderate with room for optimization, but mobile responsiveness and accessibility are well addressed. SEO practices are solid with appropriate meta tags and structured navigation. The use of Matomo analytics reflects a privacy-conscious approach. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports the foundation’s mission effectively, though ongoing maintenance and modernization efforts are recommended to sustain performance and security.
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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