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Security report for msd.ch

MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme AG · Healthcare · Switzerland

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and SSL/TLS.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme AG operates as a leading pharmaceutical company in Switzerland, focusing on research, development, and distribution of medicines and vaccines. With a strong presence in Luzern and Zürich and a workforce of approximately 1000 employees, MSD serves patients, medical professionals, and researchers. The website reflects a mature digital presence with comprehensive content about the company, its products, research activities, and career opportunities. The business model centers on innovation in healthcare, clinical trials, and patient support services, positioning MSD as a key player in the Swiss pharmaceutical market under the global Merck & Co. umbrella. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern plugins such as Yoast SEO and Tiny Slider, ensuring good SEO and user experience. The site is mobile-optimized, accessible, and employs cookie consent mechanisms compliant with GDPR. Google Tag Manager is used for analytics and marketing, indicating a moderate level of user tracking balanced with privacy compliance. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, includes standard security headers, and uses a cookie consent banner to manage user privacy. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly available, which could be improved to enhance trust and compliance. Overall, MSD.ch is a professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained website representing a reputable healthcare company. The risk level is low, with recommendations focusing on enhancing transparency around security policies and incident response to further strengthen the security posture and user trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

4 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

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
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  • 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
80
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
73

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 msd.ch, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for msd.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

MSD Switzerland is positioned as a large, essential healthcare entity with a focus on pharmaceuticals and vaccines. The company leverages its global parentage to maintain a strong market presence and offers a broad portfolio of products and services including clinical trials and research. The website targets multiple audiences including patients, healthcare professionals, and potential employees, reflecting a diversified business model. The presence of dedicated portals for patients and professionals indicates a strategic approach to customer engagement and service delivery. The company’s branding and content quality suggest a stable and mature operation with growth potential in the Swiss healthcare market.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS enforcement and standard security headers. The use of a cookie consent mechanism aligns with GDPR requirements, and external link warnings enhance user safety. However, the absence of a publicly accessible security policy or vulnerability disclosure program limits transparency. No incident response contacts or security-specific communication channels were found, which could hinder timely reporting and handling of security issues. Overall, the security maturity is good but could benefit from formalizing and publishing security governance documents and contact points.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file.
  3. Provide clear incident response contact information, such as security@ or abuse@ email addresses.
  4. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance visibility of the Data Protection Officer contact details to improve GDPR compliance.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme AG
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme AG
Description
MSD erforscht und entwickelt Medikamente und Impfstoffe, die Leben retten und die Gesundheit von Patienten verbessern sollen. In der Schweiz setzen sich 1000 Mitarbeitende in Luzern und Zürich dafür ein.
Key services
Medicines, Vaccines, Clinical Trials, Research and Development
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO plugin, Tiny Slider, Google Tag Manager, OneTrust Cookie Consent
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • External link warning modal
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Strong focus on healthcare and pharmaceutical services.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Active social media presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
  5. No signs of security blocking or WAF challenges.
  6. No exposed sensitive data or obvious vulnerabilities in HTML content.
  7. Use of modern web technologies and SEO best practices.
  8. Clear contact information and multiple communication channels.
  9. No adult or questionable content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern WordPress CMS platform with well-known plugins for SEO and UI components. The use of Google Tag Manager facilitates flexible analytics and marketing integrations. Performance is moderate, with lazy loading images and responsive design enhancing user experience. Accessibility is addressed with ARIA roles and keyboard navigation support. The technical stack is standard for enterprise websites, with no deprecated or vulnerable libraries detected in the provided content. Hosting details are not explicit, but no performance or security red flags were observed. Opportunities exist to improve technical documentation and security transparency.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 72/100Medium30 findingsView report
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