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Security report for klimaatstad.gent

Stad Gent · Government · Belgium

Medium risk. 2 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS and Security headers.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Stad Gent operates an official municipal website focused on climate action, sustainability, and environmental initiatives targeting residents and local businesses. The site provides comprehensive information on climate ambitions, energy saving, green neighborhood projects, and sustainable business support. The technical infrastructure is modern, leveraging Drupal 10 CMS, with integrations for analytics, cookie consent, and live chat, reflecting a mature digital presence. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and domain transfer protections, though DNSSEC is not enabled and some security headers could be improved. Privacy compliance is robust with clear policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-aligned with its government mandate.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 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

2 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  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 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 klimaatstad.gent

This scan found 13 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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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
0
Security headers
55
Email security
80
DNS health
90
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
69

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

The website positions Stad Gent as a proactive city government entity committed to climate neutrality by 2050. It targets local residents and entrepreneurs with actionable programs and incentives. The business model is public service oriented, focusing on information dissemination and community engagement. Partnerships such as with District09 support digital operations. The site’s content quality and user experience indicate strong investment in public communication and transparency, supporting the city’s sustainability goals.

Security posture

The site demonstrates good security hygiene with HTTPS, clientTransferProhibited domain status, and antibot protections on forms. The presence of a responsible disclosure page indicates awareness of vulnerability management. However, the absence of DNSSEC and some common security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options suggests room for enhancement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Overall, the security posture is solid for a government informational site.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to improve domain name system security.
  2. Implement Content-Security-Policy and X-Content-Type-Options headers to mitigate common web attacks.
  3. Regularly review and update third-party scripts to avoid vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance incident response information by adding explicit security contact emails.
  5. Maintain transparency and update privacy and cookie policies as regulations evolve.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Stad Gent
Description
De Stad Gent informeert over klimaatambities, duurzame initiatieven en acties om Gent klimaatneutraal te maken tegen 2050. De website richt zich op bewoners, ondernemers en geïnteresseerden in milieu en duurzaamheid.
Key services
Climate action information, Energy saving advice, Green neighborhood initiatives, Sustainable business support, Public engagement and newsletter
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Cookiebot, Olark Chat, Google Optimize
Frameworks
Drupal
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • Use of antibot modules on forms
  • Responsible disclosure page present

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager, Google Optimize
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Google Optimize, Cookiebot
Marketing tools
Cookiebot, Olark Chat
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-maintained official city government site for Ghent focused on climate and environmental topics.
  2. Content is rich, well-structured, and professionally presented in Dutch with multilingual options.
  3. Multiple user engagement features including newsletter subscription and feedback forms with antibot protections.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and compliance with privacy regulations including GDPR.
  5. No signs of malicious content or security issues detected.
  6. Social media presence is integrated with official city accounts.
  7. WHOIS data and hosting provider are consistent with a legitimate municipal website.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses Drupal 10 CMS with a modern tech stack including jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Cookiebot, and Olark chat integration. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible with good SEO practices. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich media content and multiple scripts. Hosting is provided by Combell NV, a reputable Belgian provider. The site uses antibot modules to protect forms and has structured navigation with multilingual support. Technical risks are minimal but could be reduced by enabling DNSSEC and adding missing security headers.
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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