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Security report for openknowledgemaps.org

Open Knowledge Maps · Non-profit · United States

High risk. 7 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

35/100

Risk levelHigh

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

Open Knowledge Maps is a well-established non-profit organization founded in 2014, focused on revolutionizing scientific knowledge discovery through AI-based search and visualization tools. Their platform serves researchers and the scientific community by providing an accessible and open infrastructure for literature search and concept identification. Technically, the website uses modern frontend technologies such as Bootstrap, jQuery, and D3.js, and is hosted on Contabo servers. However, the absence of HTTPS is a critical security gap that undermines user trust and data protection. Privacy compliance is strong, with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms, alongside the use of privacy-respecting analytics (Matomo). Business credibility is supported by testimonials, awards, and open source transparency. Overall, the site is content-rich and professionally designed but requires urgent security improvements.

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

7 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

      No HTTPS encryption

      GDPR requires appropriate security measures for personal data

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate for HTTPS

  2. 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

      No HTTPS Encryption

      Website does not use HTTPS encryption, making all data transmission vulnerable to interception

      What to do: Implement SSL/TLS certificate and redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS

  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"

    • 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';…

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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
15
Email security
50
DNS health
85
Network security
40
GDPR outside view
18
Average
35

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

The organization occupies a niche as a leading AI-driven open science platform, supported by memberships, donations, and project funding from reputable institutions such as the European Commission and the Gates Foundation. Their partnerships with academic libraries and research institutions enhance their credibility and reach. The business model is non-profit and community-driven, focusing on sustainability and inclusivity. The platform's open source nature and transparent licensing foster trust and collaboration. Growth potential lies in expanding custom integrations and increasing supporting memberships.

Security posture

The current security posture is weak due to the lack of HTTPS, no HSTS, and missing modern security headers. While no active vulnerabilities or malware are detected, the absence of SSL/TLS encryption exposes users to risks such as data interception and man-in-the-middle attacks. The use of privacy proxy registration and cookie consent indicates awareness of privacy concerns, but incident response and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not publicly documented. The site should prioritize SSL deployment and enhance security headers to improve resilience and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a valid SSL/TLS certificate to enable HTTPS across the entire site.
  2. Configure HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with includeSubDomains and preload directives.
  3. Add essential security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  4. Publish a security policy and vulnerability disclosure page to improve transparency and incident response readiness.
  5. Enhance mobile optimization and accessibility features to improve user experience and compliance.
Technical notes

Notes

The website runs on an Apache server with Ubuntu, using Bootstrap for responsive design, jQuery and D3.js for interactive elements, and Matomo for analytics. Hosting is provided by Contabo, a known VPS provider. Performance data is missing, suggesting a need for monitoring improvements. The site lacks HTTPS, which is a major technical deficiency. The frontend is well-structured with clear navigation and SEO meta tags. The use of open source libraries and open source hosting on GitHub aligns with the organization's open science mission. Technical debt appears low but security modernization is urgently needed.
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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