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Security report for skatelescope.org

SKA Observatory · Government · N/a

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

79/100

Risk levelLow

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

SKA Observatory is an intergovernmental organization focused on building and operating the world's largest radio telescope arrays in South Africa and Australia. The organization collaborates globally to advance scientific research in radio astronomy, providing infrastructure and opportunities for scientists, industry, and the public. The website reflects a mature digital presence with professional design, clear navigation, and comprehensive content tailored to its diverse audience including researchers and partners. Technically, the website is built on Drupal 10, hosted on AWS infrastructure, and employs modern web technologies such as lazy loading, privacy-focused analytics (Matomo), and cookie consent management. The site is optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility, reflecting a high level of digital maturity. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and privacy-conscious analytics settings. However, it lacks explicit security policy documentation and incident response contact information, which are recommended for transparency and trust. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the website presents a low-risk profile with strong privacy compliance and business credibility. Strategic improvements include publishing formal security policies, incident response details, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms to enhance trust and security posture.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 100 · Low
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

2 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 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

  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.

    • 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

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

Keep watching skatelescope.org

This scan found 18 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
75
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
Average
79

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

SKA Observatory holds a leading position in the global scientific community as an intergovernmental entity managing large-scale radio astronomy infrastructure. Its business model revolves around international collaboration, scientific research facilitation, and industry engagement through procurement and career opportunities. The organization targets scientists, governments, industry partners, and the public interested in astronomy and science. The website supports this ecosystem with resources, news, and outreach materials. The presence of multiple member states and recent domain registration align with its emerging but significant role in the scientific sector.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with HTTPS enforcement, privacy-friendly analytics, and cookie consent mechanisms. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive information were found. However, the absence of published security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure channels indicates room for improvement in transparency and readiness. Implementing security headers and a security.txt file would further strengthen the security posture. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from enhanced communication of its security practices.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information to facilitate reporting and communication.
  3. Implement security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  4. Create and publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly review and audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure they remain secure and up to date.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
SKA Observatory
Description
Building the two largest telescope arrays in the world, located in South Africa and Australia, made possible through a global collaboration.
Key services
Radio telescope construction and operation, Scientific research facilitation, Outreach and education, Procurement and industry opportunities
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Drupal 10, Matomo Analytics, lazysizes (lazy loading images), Cookiesjsr (cookie consent management), Modernizr, Swiper (carousel/slider)
Frameworks
Drupal CMS
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Matomo analytics configured with privacy-friendly settings (IP masking, no personal data tracking)
  • Cookie consent banner with granular controls
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo Analytics
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
excellent

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo Analytics
Marketing tools
Matomo Analytics
Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured.
  2. Strong focus on transparency with privacy and cookie policies.
  3. Use of privacy-friendly analytics (Matomo) with IP masking.
  4. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  5. Active social media presence on major platforms.
  6. Content is focused on science, education, and organizational information.
  7. No contact emails or phone numbers explicitly listed on homepage; contact via forms and magazine page.
  8. No explicit security policy or incident response information publicly available.
  9. No terms of service page detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website leverages Drupal 10 CMS, hosted on AWS infrastructure, and uses modern front-end technologies including lazy loading images (lazysizes), privacy-focused Matomo analytics, and cookie consent management (cookiesjsr). The site is well-optimized for performance, mobile responsiveness, and accessibility. SEO best practices are followed with proper meta tags and structured navigation. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, supporting a fast and user-friendly experience. Opportunities exist to enhance security headers and formalize security-related documentation.
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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