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Security report for nlnetlabs.nl

Stichting NLnet Labs · Technology · Netherlands

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

52/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Stichting NLnet Labs is a well-established non-profit organization founded in 2000, specializing in research and development of Internet infrastructure technologies, particularly DNS and routing security. The organization develops and maintains several open source software projects such as Unbound, NSD, and routing tools like Krill and Routinator. Their market position is strong within the Internet infrastructure community, supported by partnerships with major industry players and active participation in open standards and research collaborations. Technically, the website demonstrates a modern, responsive design using Bootstrap, jQuery, and FontAwesome, with good SEO and accessibility practices. Security-wise, the site employs HTTPS and DNSSEC, publishes security advisories, and uses privacy-conscious analytics (Matomo). However, it lacks some advanced security headers and a formal security policy publication. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, with minor areas for improvement in privacy consent mechanisms and security disclosures.

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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  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 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 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

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

Keep watching nlnetlabs.nl

This scan found 17 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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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
0
Security headers
65
Email security
60
DNS health
80
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
68
Average
52

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

NLnet Labs operates as a non-profit foundation focused on enhancing Internet stability and security through open source software and research. Their business model revolves around community-driven development, consultancy, and support contracts. The organization targets Internet infrastructure operators, researchers, and developers. Their competitive advantage lies in their long-standing reputation, technical expertise, and strong partnerships with key Internet governance and infrastructure entities such as RIPE NCC, ICANN, and major tech companies. The presence of multiple high-profile supporters and collaborators indicates a robust partnership ecosystem. Growth indicators include active software releases, security advisories, and educational initiatives. The organization maintains a clear and consistent brand identity, reinforcing trust and credibility in their niche market.

Security posture

NLnet Labs demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and DNSSEC enabled on their domain, which is critical for their DNS and routing security focus. The publication of security advisories and use of mailing lists for support indicate proactive vulnerability management. The use of Matomo analytics reflects a privacy-conscious approach to user tracking. However, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and a formal security policy document are areas for enhancement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the website content. Incident response contact channels are not explicitly provided, which could be improved to enhance security readiness. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from formalized policies and improved header configurations.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a formal security policy page outlining security frameworks and practices.
  2. Implement a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability disclosure and incident reporting.
  3. Add comprehensive security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  4. Introduce a cookie consent mechanism to comply fully with GDPR and enhance user privacy transparency.
  5. Provide explicit incident response contact information to improve security communication and trust.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Stichting NLnet Labs
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Stichting NLnet Labs
Description
NLnet Labs is a non-profit foundation focused on research and development in Internet architecture, DNS, routing, stability, and security. They develop open source software and contribute to open standards to enhance the Internet's infrastructure.
Key services
Open source DNS software (Unbound, NSD, Cascade, domain), Routing software (Krill, Routinator, RTRTR, Rotonda), Research projects and collaborations, Consultancy and support contracts, Education and mentoring student projects
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, jQuery, FontAwesome, Slick Carousel, Matomo Analytics
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • DNSSEC enabled on domain
  • Security advisories published
  • Use of security mailing lists

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Strong focus on open source software and Internet infrastructure research.
  3. Clear navigation with well-structured menus and content.
  4. Active news and security advisories indicate ongoing maintenance.
  5. Multiple reputable partners and supporters displayed.
  6. No forms detected that collect user data on the homepage.
  7. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banners visible, but policies are linked.
  8. Use of Matomo analytics suggests privacy-conscious tracking.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern and stable technology stack including Bootstrap for responsive design, jQuery for interactivity, and FontAwesome for icons. It uses Matomo for analytics, indicating a preference for privacy-friendly tools. The site is well-structured with clear navigation and fast loading times. No CMS was detected, suggesting a custom or static site approach, which can reduce attack surface but may require more maintenance effort. Hosting details are not explicit, but the presence of AWS-related analytics suggests cloud infrastructure usage. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices evident from meta tags and structured navigation. Opportunities exist to modernize further by adopting newer JavaScript frameworks or enhancing security headers and privacy controls.
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. 52/100Medium26 findingsView report
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