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Security report for presscouncils.eu

Media Councils in the Digital Age (MCDA) · Media · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 2 other checks.

Security score

52/100

Risk levelMedium

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

PressCouncils.eu is a specialized portal supporting the Media Councils in the Digital Age (MCDA) project, backed by the European Commission. It aims to strengthen media self-regulation and journalistic ethics across Europe by providing databases, research, news, and educational resources. The website targets media professionals, journalists, and regulators interested in media freedom and ethical journalism. The platform is a niche, small-scale project portal with a clear focus on media ethics and self-regulation in the European context. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using modern libraries such as Bootstrap, jQuery, Leaflet.js for interactive maps, and Google Analytics for tracking. The site is mobile optimized with good navigation and SEO practices, though accessibility features are basic. Performance is moderate, with no major technical issues detected. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and uses secure contact forms but lacks visible security headers and published security or incident response policies. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found. Privacy compliance is limited, with no visible privacy or cookie policies or consent mechanisms, which is an area for improvement. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professional, supported by EU funding and consistent branding. The lack of WHOIS data is due to privacy protection by EURid, which is justified for this type of project. Recommendations include enhancing privacy disclosures, adding security headers, and publishing incident response and vulnerability disclosure information to improve trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
10/ 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

8 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 Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

    • 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

  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';…

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Keep watching presscouncils.eu

This scan found 23 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
72
Security headers
50
Email security
85
DNS health
75
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
10
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

PressCouncils.eu occupies a unique position as a European Commission-supported portal dedicated to media self-regulation and journalistic ethics. Its competitive advantage lies in its comprehensive databases and resources tailored for media councils and professionals across Europe. The business model is non-profit and project-based, focusing on knowledge dissemination rather than commercial revenue. Target customers include media regulators, journalists, researchers, and policy makers. Growth indicators include active event calendars and recent news updates. The partnership ecosystem includes European Commission backing and media councils across EU countries. Operationally, the site maintains a focused content strategy with consistent updates and engagement through social media (Bluesky).

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level with HTTPS enforced and secure form usage. However, it lacks several best practices such as security headers (CSP, HSTS), published security policies, and incident response contacts. No vulnerabilities or sensitive data exposures were detected in the HTML content. The absence of a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file indicates limited transparency in security incident handling. GDPR compliance indicators are minimal due to missing privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a non-commercial informational site but could be improved to align with best practices and regulatory requirements.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to enhance GDPR compliance.
  2. Implement and configure security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options.
  3. Add visible incident response and security policies including contact channels for security issues.
  4. Create and publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to improve transparency and trust.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to improve usability for all users and comply with accessibility standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Media Councils in the Digital Age (MCDA)
Description
PressCouncils.eu is the portal of the Media Councils in the Digital Age (MCDA) project supported by the European Commission to strengthen the European model of media self-regulation to protect media freedom and encourage professionalism in journalistic content
Key services
Press Councils Database, Ethical Codes Database, Media Literacy Toolkit, Research and Press Releases, Events Calendar
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, jQuery, Bootstrap, Leaflet.js, Google Analytics, Contact Form 7
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of secure contact forms

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional portal for media self-regulation in Europe
  2. Content is well structured with databases, news, events, and educational resources
  3. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main pages
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie policies visible on homepage content
  5. WHOIS data is privacy protected with no registrar or dates exposed
  6. Uses modern web technologies and analytics tools
  7. No security headers detected in HTML source
  8. No visible security or incident response policies
  9. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt found
  10. No advertising networks detected beyond analytics/tracking
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using Bootstrap for responsive design and jQuery for client-side scripting. It integrates Leaflet.js for interactive mapping and Google Analytics for user tracking. The site loads scripts asynchronously where possible, improving performance. The HTML and CSS are valid and well-structured, supporting good SEO and mobile optimization. However, there is room for improvement in accessibility and security header implementation. Hosting provider details are not explicitly available. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and sufficient for the site's informational purpose, with moderate performance and good user experience.
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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