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Security report for oaspa.org

Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) · Education · N/a

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) operates a professional and well-structured website focused on supporting open scholarship through membership services, advocacy, and resources. The organization targets institutions and individuals involved in open access publishing, positioning itself as a key non-profit entity in the education sector. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with Elementor, leveraging modern web technologies and privacy-conscious analytics, ensuring good performance, accessibility, and SEO. Security posture is strong with HTTPS, security headers, and cookie consent mechanisms, though explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly disclosed. Overall, the site presents a low-risk profile with strong business credibility and compliance with privacy regulations.

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

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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';…

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • 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

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

Keep watching oaspa.org

This scan found 20 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

€25per month

  • 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
72
Security headers
65
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
68
Average
65

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

OASPA's market position as a non-profit membership association in open access publishing is supported by clear organizational information, membership benefits, and a code of conduct. The business model relies on membership fees and advocacy services. The website reflects a mature digital presence with a focus on education and non-profit sectors. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not explicitly listed. The content quality and branding consistency reinforce trust and professionalism, supporting growth and engagement within the scholarly publishing community.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement, comprehensive security headers, and a cookie consent mechanism aligned with GDPR. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of a public security policy, incident response information, or vulnerability disclosure program suggests room for improvement in transparency and readiness. The use of privacy-friendly analytics indicates a commitment to user privacy. Overall, security risks are low but could be further mitigated by publishing dedicated security documentation and contacts.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and compliance.
  2. Provide incident response and vulnerability disclosure information, including security contact emails.
  3. Implement and publish a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability reporting.
  4. Enhance contact information with direct company emails and phone numbers for support and security.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and plugins to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA)
Description
OASPA is a diverse network of organisations engaged in open scholarship. It promotes open access scholarly publishing and provides membership benefits including advocacy and resources.
Key services
Membership services, Advocacy for open scholarship, Resources and tools for OA publishing, Events and news dissemination
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Elementor, jQuery, Font Awesome, Swiper.js, Cookie Law Info plugin, Plausible Analytics
Frameworks
Elementor
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security headers

Analytics and tracking

Services
Plausible Analytics
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Plausible Analytics
Transparency
excellent

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. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanism implemented.
  3. No direct email or phone contact found; contact is via web form.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and CMS (WordPress + Elementor).
  5. Good SEO and accessibility practices observed.
  6. No security or incident response contact information publicly available.
  7. WHOIS data is unavailable or privacy protected, common for non-profits.
  8. No advertising or affiliate marketing detected; minimal tracking via privacy-friendly analytics.
  9. Content is safe and appropriate for general audiences.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern WordPress CMS platform using Elementor for page building, supported by jQuery and Font Awesome for UI elements. It uses Swiper.js for sliders and Plausible Analytics for privacy-focused visitor tracking. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices and accessibility, with good SEO metadata and structured data (JSON-LD) for enhanced search engine understanding. Performance is moderate, likely due to rich media and scripts, but overall user experience is smooth. Hosting provider details are not disclosed. The site employs cookie consent management via a dedicated plugin, ensuring compliance with privacy laws.
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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