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Security report for jvolcanica.org

Volcanica · Other · France

High risk. 10 critical or high findings in Network security, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

45/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Volcanica is a specialized academic journal dedicated to volcanology research, operating under a diamond open access model that eliminates fees for authors and readers. It is supported institutionally by Presses universitaires de Strasbourg and holds recognized open access certifications such as the DOAJ Seal and memberships in the Free Journal Network and OASPA. The website is built on Open Journal Systems, leveraging modern web technologies including Bootstrap and MathJax, and integrates analytics tools like Google Analytics and Tag Manager for user tracking. The site is mobile responsive, accessible, and professionally designed, providing a positive user experience for its target audience of researchers and professionals in volcanology. Security posture is generally good with HTTPS enforced, but lacks some security headers and visible cookie consent mechanisms. WHOIS data is unavailable, likely due to privacy protection, which is common and justified for this type of academic publishing entity. Overall, the website demonstrates a strong trust profile and professional operation.

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

10 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

  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 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 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 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

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

Keep watching jvolcanica.org

This scan found 27 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

Recommended

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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
62
Security headers
20
Email security
85
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
35
Average
45

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

Volcanica occupies a niche market in academic publishing focused on volcanology and related disciplines. Its diamond open access business model positions it competitively by removing financial barriers for authors and readers, enhancing accessibility and dissemination of scientific knowledge. The journal benefits from institutional backing and recognized open access certifications, which enhance credibility and attract quality submissions. The target audience includes volcanology researchers, academics, and professionals. The website's integration with established open access platforms and networks indicates a strategic alignment with open science initiatives. The absence of direct contact emails or phone numbers suggests a preference for controlled communication channels via web forms, typical in academic publishing. The use of analytics tools supports data-driven insights into readership and engagement, aiding strategic growth and outreach.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS, ensuring encrypted communication and protecting user data in transit. However, the absence of key security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security represents an area for improvement to mitigate common web vulnerabilities. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. The login and registration forms appear secure, but no explicit security or incident response policies are published, which could enhance transparency and preparedness. The lack of a cookie consent mechanism may pose compliance risks under GDPR and similar regulations. Overall, the security posture is solid but could be strengthened by implementing recommended headers, publishing security policies, and adding user consent mechanisms.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Add a visible cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations, improving user transparency and legal compliance.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response plan on the website to demonstrate commitment to security and provide clear guidance for stakeholders.
  4. Consider establishing a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Enhance contact information availability by providing verified company contact emails or phone numbers to improve trust and communication.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Volcanica
Description
Volcanica is a broad-scope diamond open access journal for volcanology research, publishing high-quality, rigorously peer reviewed research pertaining to volcanology and related disciplines, eliminating submission fees and keeping content freely accessible.
Key services
Publishing peer-reviewed volcanology research articles, Providing open access to scientific content, Supporting authors with free submission and publication
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Open Journal Systems 3.3.0.7, jQuery, jQuery UI, Bootstrap 3, MathJax, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
Open Journal Systems (OJS)
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure login and registration forms

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professionally maintained academic journal platform using Open Journal Systems.
  2. Content is freely accessible and free to publish, supporting open access principles.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via web form.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners detected, though privacy policy is present.
  5. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy found.
  6. WHOIS data is unavailable or blocked, but no suspicious content or domains detected.
  7. Use of Google Analytics and Tag Manager indicates moderate user tracking.
  8. Site is mobile responsive and accessible with good SEO practices.
  9. No signs of adult or unsafe content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by Open Journal Systems version 3.3.0.7, a widely used open-source platform for academic publishing. It utilizes Bootstrap 3 for responsive design, jQuery and jQuery UI for interactive elements, and MathJax for rendering mathematical notation. Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager are integrated for user behavior tracking. The site loads external resources from reputable CDNs, contributing to moderate performance. The HTML structure is valid and includes accessibility features such as ARIA labels and screen reader navigation. SEO is supported through meta descriptions and structured navigation. No major technical debt or deprecated technologies were observed, though upgrading Bootstrap to a newer version could be considered for modernization. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified from the content. Overall, the technical infrastructure is stable and suitable for the journal's needs.
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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