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Security report for ivw.de

Informationsgemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern e.V. · Media · Germany

High risk. 8 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Network security and 1 other check.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The website ivw.de represents the Informationsgemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern e.V., a German non-profit organization specializing in auditing and certifying media circulation and audience measurement across print, digital, radio, cinema, and paid content sectors. The organization serves media companies, advertisers, and market researchers by providing reliable and certified data to support media planning and advertising decisions. The site offers detailed statistics, audit reports, news, and event information, positioning itself as a trusted authority in the German media market. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 7 CMS, utilizing jQuery and Highcharts for interactive data visualization. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and clear navigation, though accessibility features are basic. Performance is moderate, with a professional design and consistent branding. The site is fully accessible without any WAF or security challenges detected. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS with excellent SSL configuration but lacks visible security headers and explicit incident response or vulnerability disclosure information. Privacy compliance is indicated by the presence of a comprehensive privacy policy in German, but no cookie consent mechanism was detected. Contact information such as emails or phone numbers is not clearly presented on the homepage, which may impact user trust and support accessibility. Overall, ivw.de is a credible and professional website with a strong business focus on media auditing and certification. Strategic improvements in security headers, cookie consent, and contact transparency would enhance its security posture and user trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
28/ 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

8 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

  2. 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
    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: PostgreSQL

      Port 5432 (PostgreSQL) is publicly accessible - PostgreSQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to PostgreSQL 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

  3. 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';…

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Keep watching ivw.de

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
85
Security headers
50
Email security
65
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
28
Average
50
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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

IVW operates as a key player in the German media auditing sector, providing essential services that validate media circulation and audience data. Its non-profit status and established presence suggest a stable revenue model likely based on membership fees and service subscriptions. The organization targets media publishers, advertisers, and agencies requiring certified data for media planning. The website's extensive content, including audit procedures, statistical dashboards, and news updates, supports its role as an industry standard bearer. Partnerships with digital and paid content platforms indicate a broad ecosystem engagement. The lack of direct contact details on the homepage may reflect a controlled communication strategy focused on registered members. Growth indicators include expanding digital audits (IVWplus), paid content verification, and integration with EU media freedom initiatives. The organization maintains a strong market position through trusted certifications and comprehensive data offerings, reinforcing its competitive advantage in the German media landscape.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities in the provided content. However, the absence of common security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options represents a gap that could expose the site to certain web-based attacks. No incident response or security policy information is publicly available, which limits transparency and preparedness perception. The lack of a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file further reduces the site's openness to responsible security reporting. Data protection practices appear aligned with GDPR through a comprehensive privacy policy, but the missing cookie consent mechanism is a compliance risk. No tracking or analytics scripts were detected, suggesting minimal user tracking. Overall, the security posture is adequate but could be significantly improved by implementing standard security headers, publishing incident response contacts, and adding cookie consent functionality.

Recommendations

  1. Implement standard security headers (Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options) to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply fully with GDPR requirements and improve user transparency.
  3. Publish clear contact information including security incident response contacts and consider a security.txt file for vulnerability disclosures.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve usability for all users, including those with disabilities.
  5. Regularly update CMS and libraries to Drupal 9 or later to reduce technical debt and improve security and performance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Informationsgemeinschaft zur Feststellung der Verbreitung von Werbeträgern e.V.
Description
Die IVW ist eine Organisation, die die Verbreitung von Werbeträgern (Print, Digital, Funk, Kino, Paid Content) erfasst und zertifiziert. Sie bietet Audits, Ausweisungen, Statistiken und Richtlinien für Medienanbieter und Werbekunden an.
Key services
Print circulation audits, Digital audience measurement, Paid Content verification, Funk (radio) media audits, Kino (cinema) visitor frequency data, Publication of statistics and reports
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 7, jQuery, Highcharts
Frameworks
Drupal
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is primarily in German and focused on media auditing and certification.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the homepage or main content.
  4. No explicit cookie consent mechanism detected despite GDPR compliance indications.
  5. Website uses Drupal 7 CMS with several contributed modules and Highcharts for data visualization.
  6. No social media links explicitly found in the provided content.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page found.
  8. No explicit security or incident response contact information found.
  9. The website provides extensive navigation menus covering multiple media sectors.
  10. The website includes news, press releases, events, and statistical dashboards.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Drupal 7, a mature but aging CMS platform, with multiple contributed modules for date handling, workflow, views, and charts. It uses jQuery and Highcharts for interactive elements and data visualization. The site loads multiple CSS and JS resources from its own domain, indicating self-hosted assets. The performance is moderate with no evident broken elements. Mobile optimization is good with responsive menus and viewport settings. SEO is supported by canonical links and meta tags. However, the site could benefit from modernization to a newer Drupal version and optimization of asset loading for faster performance. Accessibility is basic, with skip links and font resizing scripts present but no ARIA landmarks or advanced accessibility features detected.
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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