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Security report for horizon2020.ie

Horizon Europe Ireland National Support Network · Government · Ireland

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

Horizon Europe Ireland National Support Network operates as the official Irish national support network for the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme. The website serves as a comprehensive resource for researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs in Ireland, providing detailed information on funding opportunities, programme areas, success stories, and events. The site is well-positioned as an authoritative source within the Irish research and innovation ecosystem. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, and LiteSpeed caching. Hosting is provided by Hosting Ireland, a reputable Irish hosting provider. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and SEO practices, though accessibility features could be improved. Performance is moderate, with room for optimization. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with a good SSL configuration but lacks DNSSEC and explicit security headers. No sensitive data exposure or vulnerabilities were detected in the content. Privacy compliance is limited due to the absence of visible privacy and cookie policies or consent mechanisms. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional, serving its target audience effectively. However, improvements in privacy compliance, security headers, and accessibility would enhance its security posture and user trust.

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

2 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 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
72
Security headers
80
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
81

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 Horizon Europe Ireland National Support Network holds a strong market position as the official national contact point for Horizon Europe funding in Ireland. Its business model is government-supported, focusing on facilitating access to EU research funding for Irish entities. The network supports a broad target audience including academic institutions, research organizations, SMEs, and entrepreneurs. The website reflects a mature partnership ecosystem with Enterprise Ireland and other stakeholders. Growth indicators include active news updates, success stories, and event hosting. The network's operations align with Ireland's strategic goals in research and innovation, positioning it as a key enabler in the national innovation ecosystem.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is enforced with a valid SSL certificate, ensuring encrypted communications. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents gaps in defense-in-depth. No exposed sensitive information or vulnerable libraries were identified. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency and preparedness. Privacy compliance is partial, with no visible cookie consent or privacy policy, which may pose regulatory risks under GDPR. Overall, the security posture is adequate for an informational government site but requires enhancements to meet best practices and compliance standards.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance statements.
  4. Add a cookie consent mechanism to obtain user consent for tracking and cookies.
  5. Create and publish a security policy and incident response contact information, including a security.txt file.
  6. Enhance website accessibility to meet WCAG standards for broader inclusivity.
  7. Optimize website performance for faster load times, especially on mobile devices.
  8. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries for vulnerabilities and update accordingly.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Horizon Europe Ireland National Support Network
Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union’s key funding programme for research and innovation (2021-2027) with a budget of over €93.5 billion. The Irish National Support Network assists researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs in Ireland to compete for and secure Horizon Europe funding. The website provides information on programme areas, funding supports, success stories, news, events, and career-fit initiatives.
Key services
Information dissemination on Horizon Europe programme areas, Support for funding applications, National contact points and advisors, News and updates on Horizon Europe, Events and career development initiatives
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, LiteSpeed Cache, Fancybox, Visual Portfolio
Frameworks
WordPress Extra Theme
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Google Tag Manager for analytics

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is an official national support network for Horizon Europe in Ireland.
  2. Content is rich with news, success stories, and detailed programme information.
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie policies found on the homepage or main navigation.
  4. Social media presence is linked to official Horizon Europe Ireland accounts.
  5. Technical stack is modern and based on WordPress with common plugins.
  6. Security best practices are partially implemented; DNSSEC is not enabled.
  7. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly found in the provided content.
  8. No visible forms collecting personal data except a search form.
  9. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  10. No evidence of WAF or content blocking.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress using the Extra theme and several plugins such as Visual Portfolio and Fancybox. It uses jQuery and Google Tag Manager for analytics and tracking. Hosting is provided by Hosting Ireland, a reputable Irish hosting provider. The site uses LiteSpeed caching for performance optimization. Meta tags and SEO elements are well implemented, contributing to good search engine visibility. Mobile optimization is good, with responsive design elements. Accessibility is basic and could be improved. No critical technical debt or deprecated technologies were detected. The site could benefit from enhanced security configurations and performance tuning to improve user experience 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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