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Security report for istl.ch

ISTL · Education · Switzerland

High risk. 5 critical or high findings in Network security, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

ISTL is an educational institution specializing in dual theological studies offering Bachelor and Master degree programs as well as Bible school education. The website targets individuals interested in theological education primarily in Switzerland and Germany. The institution maintains a professional online presence with comprehensive privacy and cookie policies, and active social media engagement. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using the Astra theme and integrates modern analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, and Meta Pixel, all managed with user consent via a cookie banner. Security posture is good with HTTPS enforced and no obvious vulnerabilities detected, though some security headers could be improved. The lack of WHOIS data for the domain introduces uncertainty about domain registration legitimacy, which should be further investigated. Overall, the website is professional, user-friendly, and compliant with GDPR requirements.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
85/ 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

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection
    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

  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 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 istl.ch

This scan found 18 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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  • 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
95
Security headers
30
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
85
Average
63
After the cap
49

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 · found on this site
  • 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 istl.ch, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for istl.ch 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

ISTL occupies a niche market in theological education with a focus on dual study programs. Its business model revolves around providing accredited theological degrees and public courses. The organization appears small but well-branded and consistent, with clear contact points in Switzerland and Germany. The use of multiple marketing and analytics tools indicates a mature digital marketing approach. No parent or subsidiary companies are identified. The institution leverages testimonials and social media to build trust and community engagement.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms. However, explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not evident, which could enhance protection against common web attacks. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The integration of third-party scripts is managed with user consent, aligning with privacy best practices. Incident response and security policy information are not publicly available, which is common for small educational sites but could be improved for transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen web security.
  2. Verify and publish domain registration details to improve trust and legitimacy perception.
  3. Regularly audit third-party scripts and plugins for vulnerabilities and update them promptly.
  4. Consider publishing a security policy and incident response contact information to enhance transparency and preparedness.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance and user experience for all visitors.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
ISTL
Description
ISTL verbindet ein solides und fundiertes duales Theologiestudium und innovatives Denken mit jugendlichem Feuer. Studiengänge von 1 bis 4 Jahre – für jede Berufung.
Key services
Dual theological study programs, Bachelor and Master degrees, Bible school education, Public courses
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Astra Theme, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4, Google Ads Conversion Tracking, Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel), Real Cookie Banner Pro, jQuery
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics 4
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads
Tracking pixels
Google Analytics 4, Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel)
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content in German language
  2. Strong focus on theological education with dual study programs
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent and privacy policy implementation
  4. Use of multiple third-party analytics and marketing tools with consent
  5. Clear contact information for Swiss and German offices
  6. No evidence of security challenges or WAF blocking
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, raising questions about domain registration status
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses WordPress CMS with the Astra theme, supported by various plugins including Real Cookie Banner Pro for consent management and Ultimeter Premium for analytics. It integrates Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, and Meta Pixel for marketing and analytics purposes. The site loads multiple fonts and stylesheets efficiently and uses modern JavaScript libraries like jQuery. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and SEO practices. Some minor technical debt is noted in missing explicit security headers and limited accessibility features. Hosting provider details are not disclosed in the HTML content.
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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