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Security report for nrweuropa.de

ZENIT GmbH (Konsortialführerin), NRW.BANK (Konsortialpartnerin), NRW.Global Business GmbH, IHK NRW e.V. · Government · Germany

High risk. 9 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Network security and 1 other check.

Security score

41/100

Risk levelHigh

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

NRW.Europa is a regional representation of the Enterprise Europe Network in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, providing comprehensive support for internationalization, innovation, and funding to SMEs and research institutions. The website is built on TYPO3 CMS and features professional design, clear navigation, and multilingual support. However, the site lacks a valid SSL certificate and modern TLS protocols, which significantly impacts its security posture. While privacy compliance is well addressed through a cookie consent mechanism and a comprehensive privacy policy, the absence of HTTPS and other security headers poses risks. The site maintains active content with news and event calendars, reinforcing its credibility and engagement with its audience. Strategic improvements in SSL deployment and security configurations are critical to enhance trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
18/ 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

9 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

  2. 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
    • 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

  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 nrweuropa.de

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.

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
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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
50
Security headers
25
Email security
50
DNS health
75
Network security
25
GDPR outside view
18
Average
41

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

The organization operates as a non-profit network funded by the European Commission, targeting SMEs and research entities in NRW for international business development and innovation support. It leverages partnerships with regional banks and business organizations, positioning itself as a key facilitator in the European innovation ecosystem. The business model focuses on advisory and brokerage services, with a strong emphasis on EU funding and cross-border collaboration. The website reflects a mature digital presence but lacks direct contact details on the homepage, possibly to channel inquiries through dedicated contact pages. The partnership ecosystem includes recognized entities such as NRW.BANK and the European Commission, enhancing its market position.

Security posture

The website's security maturity is low due to the absence of a valid SSL certificate and lack of HTTPS enforcement, exposing users to potential data interception risks. DNS configurations include a valid SPF record but lack DMARC and DNSSEC, limiting email security. No advanced security headers or mechanisms like HSTS, OCSP stapling, or session resumption are implemented. The cookie consent mechanism is properly integrated, supporting privacy compliance. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are evident, indicating limited preparedness for security incidents. Overall, the security posture requires urgent improvements to meet modern standards and regulatory requirements.

Recommendations

  1. Obtain and deploy a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire site.
  2. Implement security headers including HSTS with preload and includeSubDomains directives.
  3. Configure DMARC policy alongside existing SPF to strengthen email security.
  4. Enable OCSP stapling and session resumption to improve SSL performance and security.
  5. Publish clear security and incident response policies including contact channels for abuse reports.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by TYPO3 CMS, a robust open-source content management system, and uses modern frontend technologies including JavaScript and CSS. The site is hosted with DomainControl nameservers and has a valid SPF DNS record. Performance is slow with a page load time exceeding 16 seconds and a large number of resources (151). Mobile optimization is good, and SEO practices are adequately implemented with meta tags and Open Graph data. However, the lack of HTTPS and modern TLS protocols is a significant technical deficiency. The site uses CookieFirst for consent management, indicating attention to privacy compliance. Technical debt is evident in the SSL configuration and performance metrics, suggesting opportunities for modernization and optimization.
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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