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Security report for nina.no

Norsk institutt for naturforskning · Other · Norway

High risk. 7 critical or high findings in Network security, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

47/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA) is a well-established independent research foundation in Norway focused on nature and the interaction between nature and society. The organization provides research, environmental monitoring, consulting, and evaluation services with a multidisciplinary team of natural and social scientists. Their website reflects a mature digital presence with rich content including news, blogs, and service information targeting researchers, policymakers, and the public interested in biodiversity and sustainability. Technically, the site is built on the DNN CMS platform using ASP.NET and integrates several third-party modules and services. However, the website suffers from a critical security shortfall due to the lack of a valid SSL certificate and proper HTTPS configuration, exposing users to potential risks. Privacy compliance is basic with no visible cookie consent mechanisms, and no explicit security or incident response policies are published. Overall, the site is credible and professional but requires urgent improvements in security and privacy compliance to meet modern standards.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
25/ 100 · Critical
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

7 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: PostgreSQL

      Port 5432 (PostgreSQL) is publicly accessible - PostgreSQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to PostgreSQL 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 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 Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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 nina.no

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

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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
75
Security headers
40
Email security
55
DNS health
85
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
25
Average
47

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

NINA operates in the non-profit research sector specializing in environmental and biodiversity studies in Norway. Their business model revolves around scientific research, environmental monitoring, and advisory services. The organization has a strong market position as a mature institution with 25 years of domain presence and recognized expertise. Their digital ecosystem includes partner domains for recruitment and research blogging, indicating a collaborative approach. The website content is relevant and professionally presented, supporting their mission and outreach. Growth indicators include active news updates and multiple research-related blogs. The absence of commercial advertising and minimal tracking reflects a focus on research integrity and user privacy.

Security posture

The current security posture is weak due to the absence of a valid SSL certificate and disabled TLS protocols, which is a critical vulnerability. While some security headers like X-XSS-Protection and X-Frame-Options are present, the lack of HTTPS undermines user data protection and trust. No HSTS, OCSP stapling, or session resumption mechanisms are implemented. The site uses HttpOnly cookies, which is positive, but the overly permissive CORS policy (Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *) could expose the site to cross-origin risks. No published security policies or incident response contacts reduce transparency and preparedness. Immediate remediation is required to secure communications and enhance compliance with data protection regulations.

Recommendations

  1. Acquire and deploy a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS and protect user data.
  2. Enable modern TLS protocols (TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3) and disable outdated/insecure protocols.
  3. Implement HSTS with includeSubDomains and preload to enforce secure connections.
  4. Restrict CORS policy to trusted origins to reduce cross-origin attack surface.
  5. Publish clear privacy, security, and incident response policies including contact channels.
  6. Add cookie consent mechanisms to comply with GDPR and enhance user trust.
  7. Regularly update server and CMS software to patch vulnerabilities and improve performance.
  8. Consider adding security.txt file and vulnerability disclosure policy to improve transparency.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a mature ASP.NET 4.0 framework running on an nginx server, using the DNN CMS platform. It integrates multiple third-party modules including EasyDNNNews for news management, Revindex e-commerce components, and NBStore. The frontend uses jQuery, FontAwesome, Google Fonts, and WebFont Loader for typography. Performance metrics are not available, but the site appears moderately optimized with responsive design and clear navigation. However, the lack of valid SSL and disabled TLS protocols represent significant technical debt and security risk. The site uses plausible.io for privacy-friendly analytics, indicating a conscious choice for minimal user tracking. Overall, the technical infrastructure is functional but requires modernization and security hardening.
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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