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Security report for narcis.nl

Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) · Education · Netherlands

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

Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) operates the NARCIS portal, a national Dutch platform providing access to scientific information, research data, software, and project descriptions. The website targets researchers and academics, positioning itself as a key national resource for scientific data dissemination. The business operates under the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), reflecting a non-profit, government-affiliated entity focused on education and research support. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with the Divi theme, leveraging modern web technologies including jQuery, Font Awesome, and Matomo analytics for privacy-conscious user tracking. The site is well-structured with SEO optimizations and mobile responsiveness, though some accessibility features could be enhanced. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and use of reCAPTCHA, but security headers could be improved for better protection. No privacy or cookie policies were explicitly found on the analyzed page, indicating room for compliance improvements. Overall, the domain registration aligns well with the organization's identity, supporting high legitimacy and trustworthiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
33/ 100 · High
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.

    • Critical

      EU business without adequate privacy measures

      EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements

      What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures

    • 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

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

Keep watching narcis.nl

This scan found 21 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
62
Security headers
85
Email security
80
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
33
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 narcis.nl, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for narcis.nl 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

NARCIS serves as a centralized portal for scientific data in the Netherlands, integrating multiple specialized data stations across disciplines such as archaeology, social sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences. This ecosystem approach strengthens its market position as a comprehensive research data provider. The business model is non-profit and government-supported, focusing on data archiving and open access to research outputs. The target audience includes academic researchers, institutions, and policy makers. The platform's partnerships with various data stations and use of open standards like Dataverse indicate a collaborative and interoperable approach. Growth indicators include continuous updates and integration of new data services. The presence of official social media channels and professional branding further supports its credibility.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with mandatory HTTPS, use of Google reCAPTCHA for bot mitigation, and privacy-respecting Matomo analytics. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options suggests potential areas for enhancement. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. The lack of visible privacy and cookie policies may pose compliance risks under GDPR. Incident response and security policy documentation were not found, indicating possible gaps in transparency and readiness. Overall, the security measures are adequate for a public-facing academic portal but could be strengthened to align with best practices and regulatory requirements.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear GDPR compliance statements.
  2. Add and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Publish incident response and security policy documentation accessible to users.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance with standards such as WCAG.
  5. Regularly audit and update all plugins and dependencies to mitigate vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS)
Description
NARCIS is dé nationale portal voor wie zoekt naar wetenschappelijke informatie, onderzoeksdata, onderzoekssoftware, beschrijvingen van onderzoeksprojecten en meer.
Key services
Access to scientific information, Research data archiving, Research software, Descriptions of research projects
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.2, Divi Theme, Gravity Forms, jQuery 3.5.1, Font Awesome 5.15.4, Matomo Analytics, Yoast SEO plugin, Google Fonts
Frameworks
WordPress CMS, Divi Builder
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of nonce for AJAX calls
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of reCAPTCHA script (Google reCAPTCHA v3)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Yoast SEO
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a national academic data portal operated by DANS under KNAW.
  2. Content is in Dutch and targeted at researchers and academics.
  3. No privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies explicitly found on the analyzed page.
  4. Multiple external data station domains linked, indicating a broad research data ecosystem.
  5. Use of Matomo analytics suggests privacy-conscious tracking.
  6. No signs of adult or questionable content.
  7. Security headers could be improved for enhanced protection.
  8. No visible contact emails or phone numbers on the analyzed page.
  9. Site uses modern web technologies and WordPress CMS with Divi theme.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by WordPress 6.8.2 with the Divi theme and uses several plugins including Gravity Forms and Yoast SEO. It employs jQuery 3.5.1 and Font Awesome 5.15.4 for UI components and icons. Google Fonts are used for typography. Analytics are handled via Matomo, a privacy-focused alternative to Google Analytics. The site loads external scripts asynchronously and defers non-critical JavaScript to optimize performance. Mobile optimization is good with responsive design and mobile menu enhancements. Some inline CSS and JavaScript are used for UI behaviors and accessibility improvements. The hosting provider is not explicitly identified but is likely affiliated with KNAW. Performance is moderate, with potential for improvement by optimizing external resource loading and caching strategies.
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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