Skip to main content

Security report for knows.ch

KnowS · Other · Switzerland

High risk. 6 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

KnowS is a Swiss-based online platform that connects individuals seeking support with verified local service providers, enabling users to find help or earn money flexibly and securely. The platform emphasizes community trust through verified profiles, user reviews, and insurance coverage via Zurich, positioning itself as a reliable marketplace for various service categories. The website is built on TYPO3 CMS and integrates modern technologies including Google Tag Manager, LiveChat, and Stripe for payments, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. Security practices include HTTPS enforcement and security headers, though there is room for improvement in publishing formal security policies and incident response information. The absence of WHOIS registration data raises concerns about domain legitimacy, but the professional presentation and active user engagement mitigate some risk. Overall, KnowS demonstrates a solid business and technical foundation with moderate privacy compliance and good security posture.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 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

6 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 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 knows.ch

This scan found 22 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

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
75
DNS health
65
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
73
Average
56
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 knows.ch, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for knows.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

KnowS operates as a marketplace platform targeting Swiss individuals and service providers, focusing on local and verified service exchanges. Its competitive advantage lies in its insurance partnership with Zurich, verified user profiles, and a growing community exceeding 50,000 members. The business model likely generates revenue through service facilitation fees or premium features, supported by a strong community and trust signals. The platform supports multiple service categories, including technology, household, education, and lifestyle, appealing to a broad audience. Strategic partnerships and a mobile app presence enhance market reach. However, the lack of transparent WHOIS data and limited direct contact information could impact trust among more cautious users or partners.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and implements key security headers such as CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options, indicating a good baseline security posture. Login and registration forms include client-side validation and support social login providers, enhancing user convenience and security. However, the absence of a publicly available security policy, incident response contacts, or vulnerability disclosure program limits transparency and preparedness perception. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. The platform should consider publishing formal security documentation and establishing clear incident response channels to improve security maturity and user trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to enhance transparency.
  2. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Add explicit company phone contact information for improved user support and trust.
  4. Investigate and resolve the missing WHOIS registration data to improve domain legitimacy.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to comply with best practices and broaden user inclusivity.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
KnowS
Description
KnowS is a platform to find support or earn money with skills flexibly, securely, and easily. Users can create free listings to offer or request services.
Key services
Service listings, Job offers, Verified provider discovery, Insurance coverage via Zurich, Community ratings and reviews
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
TYPO3 CMS, JavaScript, Google Tag Manager, LiveChat, Cloudinary, Stripe API
Frameworks
TYPO3
Platforms
Web, iOS App, Android App
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure login forms with validation
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of CSP and other headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
LiveChat tracking
Transparency
basic

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 in German with English alternate available.
  3. Multiple user registration and login forms with social login options.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and CMS TYPO3.
  5. Strong community focus with user reviews and testimonials.
  6. Insurance partnership with Zurich prominently displayed.
  7. No explicit contact phone numbers found; contact primarily via email and forms.
  8. No visible security.txt or vulnerability disclosure page.
  9. Cookie consent mechanism implemented with detailed configuration.
  10. No explicit data protection officer contact found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by TYPO3 CMS, leveraging modern JavaScript libraries and integrations such as Google Tag Manager, LiveChat, Cloudinary for media, and Stripe for payment processing. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and includes multilingual support (German and English). Performance is moderate with compressed CSS and JavaScript assets. SEO is supported by proper meta tags, Open Graph, and Twitter cards. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. Hosting provider details are not explicitly identified. The technical stack is solid but could benefit from enhanced accessibility and performance optimizations.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with knows.ch. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review knows.ch.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.