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Security report for m-era.net

M-ERA.NET · Energy · Austria

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

M-ERA.NET is an EU-funded consortium network focused on coordinating European research and innovation programs in materials science and battery technologies, supporting the European Green Deal. The website presents a professional and content-rich platform with detailed information about joint calls, success stories, and consortium activities. The technical infrastructure uses modern JavaScript libraries and frameworks, with a focus on usability and accessibility. Security posture is solid with HTTPS, reCAPTCHA, and cookie consent mechanisms, though explicit security policies are not published. WHOIS data is unavailable, which slightly reduces trust but the website's EU funding claims and contact information support legitimacy. Overall, the site is well-maintained and serves its target audience effectively.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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. 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 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';…

  2. 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

  3. 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

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

Keep watching m-era.net

This scan found 24 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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  • 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
72
Security headers
30
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
65
Average
68

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

M-ERA.NET operates as a coordination network for European research funding in materials science, targeting research organizations and funding bodies. Its business model revolves around managing joint calls and providing project databases and partner search tools. The consortium benefits from EU Horizon 2020 funding, enhancing its market position. The website's content and structure indicate a medium-sized organization with a clear focus on research collaboration and innovation. The presence of success stories and newsletters suggests active engagement with stakeholders. The partnership ecosystem includes European research agencies and funding bodies, though no explicit partner domains were identified in the HTML content.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, use of Google reCAPTCHA on forms, and a cookie consent mechanism compliant with GDPR. Matomo analytics is configured to disable cookies, enhancing privacy. However, the absence of security headers and lack of published security or incident response policies represent areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The missing WHOIS data is a concern but may be due to privacy or registry restrictions rather than malicious intent. Overall, the security posture is good but could be enhanced with additional transparency and technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a formal security policy and incident response plan on the website.
  2. Add and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  4. Verify and ensure WHOIS data availability or provide domain registration proof to improve trust.
  5. Enhance accessibility features and conduct regular security audits to maintain compliance and security posture.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
M-ERA.NET
Description
M-ERA.NET is an EU funded network established to support and increase coordination of European research programmes and funding in materials science and engineering, contributing to the European Green Deal.
Key services
Coordination of joint calls for research funding, Project database (Materipedia), Partner search tool, Evaluator registration
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.7.0, Bootstrap 3.3.7, Sequence.js slider, PhotoSwipe, Slick carousel, Matomo analytics, Google reCAPTCHA v2
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Google reCAPTCHA on forms
  • Cookie consent mechanism with granular controls
  • Matomo analytics with disabled cookies

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Matomo analytics, Email subscription via emailsys1a.net
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and navigation.
  2. Strong focus on European research coordination in materials science.
  3. Multiple joint calls and success stories indicate active project management.
  4. Cookie consent and privacy policies are implemented with GDPR compliance.
  5. No phone numbers found; contact primarily via email.
  6. No explicit security or incident response policies published.
  7. WHOIS data unavailable, which is unusual and warrants further verification.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a combination of jQuery, Bootstrap 3.3.7, Sequence.js for sliders, PhotoSwipe for image galleries, and Slick carousel for content display. It integrates Matomo for privacy-focused analytics and Google reCAPTCHA v2 for bot protection. The CMS appears custom or lightweight, indicated by LWResource URLs. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and basic accessibility features. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured navigation. The site uses cookie consent management with granular user controls. Hosting provider details are not evident from the content. Overall, the technical stack is modern but could benefit from updates to newer frameworks and enhanced accessibility compliance.
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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