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Security report for nsks.de

VGH Stiftung · Non-profit · Germany

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

51/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The website www.nsks.de represents the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung (NSKS) and the VGH Stiftung, two cultural foundations focused on promoting arts, music, museums, monument preservation, and sustainability projects in Lower Saxony, Germany. The platform serves as an information hub for cultural awards, events, and funding opportunities, targeting cultural institutions, artists, and the general public interested in regional culture. The business model is non-profit, emphasizing cultural support and community engagement. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Bootstrap for responsive design, Yoast SEO for search optimization, and Borlabs Cookie for cookie consent management. Hosting is provided via DomainDiscount24, and the site uses HTTPS with a good SSL configuration. The site is moderately performant and well-optimized for mobile devices, though accessibility features are basic. From a security perspective, the site benefits from HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms but lacks visible security headers and explicit privacy policies. No vulnerability disclosures or incident response contacts are present, which could be improved to enhance trust and compliance. No WAF or blocking mechanisms were detected, and no adult or questionable content is present, making the site safe for general audiences. Overall, the website is professional and trustworthy, with good content quality and business credibility. However, improvements in privacy policy publication, security headers, and contact information would strengthen its security posture and compliance with GDPR requirements.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
48/ 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

6 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

  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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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';…

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

Keep watching nsks.de

This scan found 24 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
95
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
48
Average
51

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 nsks.de, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for nsks.de 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

NSKS operates as a regional cultural foundation in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a focus on supporting and promoting cultural activities such as visual arts, music festivals, museum awards, and monument preservation. Its competitive advantage lies in its established partnerships with regional institutions like Sparkassen and the VGH Stiftung, and its role as a key cultural funding body. The business model is non-profit, relying on grants and sponsorships to fund cultural projects. The target customer segments include artists, cultural organizations, museums, and the general public interested in cultural heritage and events. Growth indicators include ongoing awards, exhibitions, and sustainability initiatives. The partnership ecosystem includes Sparkassen and VGH Stiftung, enhancing its regional influence and resource base.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enabled and a cookie consent mechanism in place. However, the absence of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options reduces its defense-in-depth. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the provided content. The lack of a published privacy policy and incident response contacts indicates gaps in compliance and incident readiness. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a non-profit cultural site but could be improved by implementing recommended headers, publishing privacy and security policies, and establishing clear incident response channels.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy page detailing data processing and GDPR compliance.
  2. Implement and configure security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Add clear contact information including security incident response and data protection officer contacts.
  4. Consider publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to enhance transparency.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party plugins and libraries to mitigate vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
VGH Stiftung
Description
The website represents the Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung (NSKS) and the VGH Stiftung, focusing on cultural promotion in Lower Saxony, Germany. It supports art, music, museums, monument preservation, and sustainability projects.
Key services
Cultural funding, Art awards (e.g., Kurt Schwitters Preis, Sprengel Preis), Music festivals and concert series, Museum awards and certifications, Monument preservation awards, Sustainability initiatives in culture
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO plugin, Bootstrap (carousel, navbar), Borlabs Cookie plugin, Font Awesome, Google Fonts (Open Sans, Noto Serif), fslightbox (lightbox library)
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Cookie consent mechanism via Borlabs Cookie

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Marketing tools
Borlabs Cookie
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a cultural foundation platform focused on Lower Saxony, Germany.
  2. Content is rich with cultural projects, awards, and events.
  3. Uses WordPress CMS with common plugins for SEO and cookie management.
  4. No explicit privacy policy or terms of service pages found in the provided content.
  5. Cookie consent is implemented via Borlabs Cookie plugin.
  6. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found in the visible content.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure information found.
  8. No security headers detected in the provided data; SSL is enabled.
  9. No signs of WAF or content blocking.
  10. No adult or questionable content detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a modern and responsive design using Bootstrap framework. SEO is enhanced via Yoast SEO plugin, and cookie management is handled by Borlabs Cookie, indicating attention to privacy compliance. The hosting provider is DomainDiscount24, as inferred from the nameservers. Performance is moderate with asynchronous image loading and use of modern CSS variables and Google Fonts. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. No critical technical debt or outdated technologies were detected, but security headers are missing, which is a technical risk. Overall, the infrastructure is stable and suitable for the foundation's needs but can benefit from security and accessibility enhancements.
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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