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Security report for melchnau.ch

Gemeinde Melchnau · Government · Switzerland

High risk. 6 critical or high findings in Network security, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

49/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Gemeinde Melchnau operates as the official municipal government website for the Melchnau community in Switzerland, providing residents and visitors with comprehensive local information, administrative contacts, event agendas, and community news. The website serves as a key communication channel for local governance, public services, and community engagement. Its market position is that of a small local government entity focused on serving its constituency effectively. Technically, the website is built on WordPress 6.8.3 with a modern plugin ecosystem including Yoast SEO for search optimization, SuperPWA for progressive web app capabilities, and Contact Form 7 for user interactions. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization and moderate performance, leveraging common web technologies such as Bootstrap, jQuery, and various JavaScript libraries for enhanced user experience. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and employs standard security practices, though explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not detected and could be improved. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the HTML content. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies, including a consent mechanism, aligning with GDPR requirements. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with high trustworthiness, clear business legitimacy, and good content quality. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security headers, maintaining up-to-date software, and publishing explicit security and incident response policies to further strengthen the security posture and compliance maturity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
68/ 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
    • 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

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • 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. 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"

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

Keep watching melchnau.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.

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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
95
Security headers
20
Email security
70
DNS health
75
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
68
Average
55
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

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Gemeinde Melchnau is positioned as a local government authority providing essential municipal services and information to its residents. Its competitive advantage lies in its official status and comprehensive digital presence that supports community engagement and administrative transparency. The business model is service-oriented, funded by public resources, focusing on information dissemination and local governance. The target customer segment includes local residents, businesses, and visitors seeking municipal information and services. Growth indicators include ongoing content updates and digital service enhancements such as eUmzug (electronic address change). The partnership ecosystem includes social media platforms for outreach and third-party service providers for web hosting and content delivery. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining digital trust and compliance to support community confidence.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and no visible exposure of sensitive data. The use of security-focused plugins and nonce tokens in forms indicates awareness of common web security practices. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options suggests room for improvement. There is no published incident response or vulnerability disclosure policy, which could limit preparedness for security events. GDPR compliance is supported by clear privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. Overall, the security culture appears adequate for a municipal website but would benefit from formalized policies and enhanced header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Publish a formal security policy and incident response plan accessible to users and stakeholders.
  3. Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to patch known vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance and user experience for all visitors.
  5. Consider adding a terms of service page to clarify user rights and responsibilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Gemeinde Melchnau
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Gemeinde Melchnau
Description
Gemeinde Melchnau
Key services
Community news and announcements, Agenda and event listings, Contact and administrative services, Online forms and downloads, Information on local politics, economy, ecology, and leisure
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.3, Yoast SEO plugin, SuperPWA plugin, Contact Form 7, Sassy Social Share, jQuery, Bootstrap, Select2, Moment.js, Slick Slider, Fancybox
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
PHP-based CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security plugins (e.g., Contact Form 7 with nonce tokens)

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
CookieYes consent management
Marketing tools
Sassy Social Share
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official municipal website for Gemeinde Melchnau in Switzerland
  2. Content is comprehensive for local residents and visitors
  3. Good use of structured data and SEO best practices
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity
  5. Contact information is clearly provided and consistent
  6. Cookie consent mechanism is implemented
  7. No terms of service page found
  8. No explicit security or incident response policies published
Technical notes

Notes

The website leverages a well-established CMS platform (WordPress) with a modern and extensible plugin ecosystem. The technology stack includes popular JavaScript libraries and CSS frameworks that support responsive design and interactive features. Performance is moderate, with caching and minification techniques applied to CSS and JS assets. The site uses structured data (JSON-LD) for SEO and social media integration, enhancing discoverability. Hosting details are not explicit but appear stable. Technical debt is minimal, though some legacy scripts and commented-out resources suggest opportunities for cleanup. Overall, the infrastructure supports current business needs with potential for modernization in security and accessibility.
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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