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Security report for iasc.info

International Arctic Science Committee · Government · Iceland

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering international cooperation in Arctic research. The website serves as a hub for Arctic scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders, providing information on working groups, capacity building programs, events, and news related to Arctic science. The organization positions itself as a key facilitator in Arctic research collaboration, with a focus on scientific advancement and community engagement. Technically, the website is built on Joomla CMS with modern front-end technologies including Bootstrap and jQuery. It employs HTTPS with good SSL configuration and uses Google Analytics for visitor tracking. The site is mobile-optimized and features a professional design with clear navigation, although accessibility features could be improved. The presence of CSRF tokens in forms indicates attention to security in user input handling. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and avoids exposing sensitive data. However, it lacks several security headers and does not provide publicly accessible security policies or incident response information. Privacy compliance is limited due to the absence of explicit privacy and cookie policies, which is a notable gap given GDPR requirements. The WHOIS data is privacy protected, which is typical for NGOs, and does not raise immediate concerns. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional, serving its niche audience effectively. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance, security headers, and incident response transparency would enhance its security posture and regulatory adherence.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 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

7 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

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Cloudflare, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching iasc.info

This scan found 17 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

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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
60
Email security
98
DNS health
85
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
35
Average
61

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

IASC operates as a specialized non-profit entity within the government and scientific sectors, focusing on Arctic research collaboration. Its business model centers on facilitating international scientific cooperation, capacity building through fellowships, and organizing conferences and workshops. The organization leverages partnerships with other Arctic science bodies and foundations to extend its reach and impact. The website reflects a mature digital presence with active social media engagement and a clear content strategy targeting researchers and policymakers. Revenue streams are likely grant and donation-based, typical for NGOs. Growth indicators include ongoing fellowship programs and international conference hosting. The partnership ecosystem includes recognized Arctic science organizations, enhancing credibility and influence.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security maturity level. HTTPS is properly implemented, and forms include CSRF tokens, reducing common web attack vectors. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options limits protection against clickjacking and content injection attacks. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response information is provided, which could hinder timely reporting and mitigation of security issues. Privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms are missing, representing compliance gaps with GDPR and other privacy regulations. No vulnerable libraries or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a non-profit organization but could be significantly improved with better policy transparency and header implementation.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie policy to improve GDPR compliance.
  2. Implement essential security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options.
  3. Provide clear incident response and vulnerability disclosure contact information on the website.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to meet WCAG standards for broader user inclusivity.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
International Arctic Science Committee
Description
The International Arctic Science Committee is a non governmental organisation that aims to encourage, facilitate and promote cooperation in all aspects of arctic research in all countries engaged in arctic research and in all areas of the arctic region.
Key services
Facilitating Arctic research cooperation, Organizing working groups and action groups, Capacity building through fellowship programs, Hosting conferences and workshops, Publishing scientific news and reports
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Bootstrap CSS, jQuery, Camera Slideshow plugin, Font Awesome, Google Fonts, Joomla CMS
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
Joomla
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of CSRF tokens in forms

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (gtag.js)
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured with clear navigation.
  2. Content is focused on Arctic scientific cooperation and capacity building.
  3. No privacy or cookie policy found, which is a compliance gap.
  4. WHOIS data is privacy protected with no public registrant info.
  5. HTTPS is enforced and security best practices are partially implemented.
  6. No security incident or vulnerability disclosure information is provided.
  7. Social media presence is active on major platforms.
  8. No advertising networks detected except Google Analytics tracking.
  9. No adult or questionable content detected; site is safe for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Joomla CMS with a front-end stack including Bootstrap, jQuery, and Font Awesome, ensuring responsive design and modern UI components. The use of a slideshow plugin and Google Fonts enhances visual appeal. Performance is moderate, with no major issues detected, though optimization opportunities exist. The site uses Google Analytics for visitor tracking, integrated via Google Tag Manager. The technical infrastructure is stable but could benefit from improved accessibility and SEO enhancements. Hosting details are not explicitly identified, but the site is professionally maintained with valid SSL certificates. Overall, the technical implementation supports the organization's mission effectively with room for modernization and security hardening.
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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