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Security report for kirche.social

LUKi e.V. · Non-profit · Germany

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

64/100

Risk levelMedium

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

kirche.social is a niche Mastodon social networking instance operated by the non-profit organization LUKi e.V., focusing on Christian, interdenominational, and ecumenical communities. The platform provides a community-driven social experience within the fediverse, emphasizing privacy and open-source technologies. The website is well-structured, with good content quality and clear navigation, primarily targeting German-speaking users interested in church-related social networking. Technically, the site leverages modern frameworks such as React and Mastodon 4.4.8, ensuring a responsive and accessible user experience. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS usage and no visible vulnerabilities, though security headers and incident response information could be improved. Privacy compliance is partially addressed with a privacy policy but lacks cookie consent mechanisms and terms of service. Overall, the domain WHOIS data is privacy protected, which is justified for this non-profit community platform. The site demonstrates a trustworthy and professional presence within its niche.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
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. 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

    • 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
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

  3. Network security

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

    • 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

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

Keep watching kirche.social

This scan found 18 issues across 5 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
52
Security headers
70
Email security
100
DNS health
85
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
58
Average
64

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

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 kirche.social, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for kirche.social 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

The business operates as a non-profit community platform under LUKi e.V., serving a specialized audience interested in church and ecumenical topics. Its market position is that of a niche Mastodon instance within the broader fediverse, leveraging open-source social networking technology. Revenue streams are likely minimal or donation-based, consistent with non-profit models. The platform benefits from partnerships or references to reputable news and organizational domains, enhancing credibility. Growth indicators include active user statistics (~230 active users) and integration with the Mastodon ecosystem. Strategic observations suggest a focus on community engagement and privacy, with potential to expand outreach through enhanced compliance and security transparency.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enabled and no exposed sensitive data. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and lack of incident response contact details indicate areas for improvement. There are no visible vulnerabilities or use of outdated libraries in the provided HTML. Compliance with GDPR is partially evident through the privacy policy, but cookie consent mechanisms are missing. The security culture appears cautious, typical for non-profit organizations, but could benefit from formalized policies and transparency. Overall, the security posture is adequate but not comprehensive, with recommendations to enhance headers, incident response readiness, and cookie compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Add explicit incident response and security contact information on the website.
  3. Introduce a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to improve GDPR compliance.
  4. Publish terms of service to clarify user rights and platform policies.
  5. Enhance transparency around data protection officer and certifications if applicable.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
LUKi e.V.
Description
Die gemeinschaftlich verantwortete Instanz von Menschen rund um die Kirche(n). Wir sind christlich, interkonfessionell und ökumenisch. kirche.social wird vom LUKi e.V. betrieben.
Key services
Mastodon social networking, Community platform for church-related discussions
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.4.8, Ruby on Rails, React, JavaScript ES Modules, SVG icons, Web Manifest
Frameworks
Mastodon, Ruby on Rails, React
Platforms
Fediverse
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • Use of HTTPS (implied by URL https://)
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Mastodon instance focused on Christian, interdenominational, and ecumenical communities.
  2. Content is primarily in German with some English interface elements.
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on the explored page.
  4. Privacy policy is present and accessible.
  5. No cookie consent banner or explicit cookie policy detected.
  6. No terms of service page detected.
  7. No security or incident response contact information found.
  8. Website uses modern web technologies including React and ES modules.
  9. No advertising or tracking scripts detected in the provided HTML.
  10. External links mostly point to reputable news and organizational domains.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the Mastodon platform version 4.4.8, utilizing Ruby on Rails backend and React frontend technologies with modern JavaScript ES modules. The site includes responsive design elements and accessibility features, providing a good user experience across devices. Performance is moderate, with no evident broken elements or errors in the HTML. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Hosting provider details are not explicit, but the domain uses HTTPS indicating SSL/TLS configuration. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, though opportunities exist to improve security headers and privacy compliance mechanisms.
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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