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Security report for helmholtz-hzi.de

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) · Healthcare · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

63/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) is a prominent German research institution specializing in infection biology and related scientific fields. Affiliated with the Helmholtz Association, it operates multiple locations across Germany and focuses on understanding infectious diseases and their defense mechanisms. The website serves as a comprehensive portal for scientific publications, career opportunities, public events, and knowledge transfer initiatives, targeting researchers, students, and healthcare professionals. Technically, the website is built on TYPO3 CMS, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries such as Masonry and Leaflet for layout and mapping functionalities. It employs Matomo for analytics, indicating a privacy-conscious approach. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices, accessible, and SEO-friendly, with structured data and Open Graph metadata enhancing discoverability. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses secure forms but lacks explicit security headers and published security policies or incident response contacts. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Privacy compliance is partial, with no visible privacy or cookie policies or consent mechanisms, which could be improved to meet GDPR standards fully. Overall, the website reflects a high level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and technical maturity, suitable for a large research institution. Strategic improvements in privacy disclosures and security transparency would further enhance its compliance and user trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
33/ 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

4 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.

    • Critical

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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

  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
67
Security headers
100
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
33
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 helmholtz-hzi.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
51
Employees
0
Customers
45
Third parties
6
Weak passwords
4%

10 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 helmholtz-hzi.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

HZI holds a strong market position as a leading German infection research center under the Helmholtz Association umbrella. Its business model is primarily research and innovation-driven, funded by government and third-party grants. The institution targets scientific communities and the public interested in infectious diseases. Its extensive publication database and multiple campuses indicate a large operational scale. Partnerships with regional and national initiatives are evident, enhancing its ecosystem. The website content and structure support its mission and outreach effectively, with clear navigation and professional branding reinforcing credibility.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security posture with HTTPS enforced and secure form handling. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and lack of published security or incident response policies represent gaps. No signs of vulnerable libraries or exposed credentials were found. The use of Matomo analytics suggests a privacy-aware approach, but missing cookie consent and privacy policy disclosures reduce compliance. Overall, the security maturity is good but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized security documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie policy with clear GDPR compliance statements.
  2. Implement a cookie consent mechanism to obtain user consent for tracking.
  3. Add security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  4. Provide a visible security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  5. Consider publishing a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosures and improve transparency.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI)
Description
Am Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung untersuchen Wissenschaftler:innen die Mechanismen von Infektionskrankheiten und ihrer Abwehr.
Key services
Infection research, Scientific publications, Career opportunities, Public events and seminars, Knowledge transfer and innovation management
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
TYPO3 CMS, JavaScript, Matomo Analytics, Leaflet (maps), Masonry (layout), Yoast SEO for TYPO3
Frameworks
TYPO3 CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure forms with autocomplete off
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Yoast SEO
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Content is comprehensive and relevant to infection research.
  3. Multiple locations and contact points are clearly presented.
  4. No privacy or cookie policies explicitly found in provided content.
  5. Use of Matomo analytics indicates privacy-conscious tracking.
  6. No visible security policy or incident response information.
  7. WHOIS data is minimal but consistent with institutional use.
  8. No signs of WAF or content blocking detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses TYPO3 CMS, a robust and widely used content management system, ensuring scalability and maintainability. JavaScript libraries such as Masonry and Leaflet enhance user experience with dynamic layouts and interactive maps. The site includes structured data (JSON-LD) and Open Graph tags for SEO and social media integration. Performance is moderate, with asynchronous loading of analytics scripts. Accessibility features like skip links and ARIA labels are implemented, supporting inclusive design. The technical stack is modern and well-integrated, though hosting provider details are not explicit. Overall, the infrastructure supports the institution's digital presence effectively.
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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