Skip to main content

Security report for starseu.org

STARS EU · Education · N/a

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

STARS EU is a strategic alliance of nine European universities focused on advancing sustainability, education, research, and innovation through collaborative academic programs and mobility initiatives. The alliance offers a broad range of academic services including joint degrees, micro-credentials, blended intensive programs, and research support such as seed grants. Their Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office serves regional innovation and productive sectors, positioning STARS EU as a significant player in European higher education collaboration. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern plugins such as Yoast SEO and Slider Revolution, ensuring good SEO and user experience. The site is mobile-optimized and uses HTTPS with Google reCAPTCHA for form security. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and some security headers are missing, indicating room for security improvements. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good practices with HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms, but lacks explicit security policies and incident response information. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The domain registration is consistent with the business profile, though the domain is relatively new (2022). Overall, STARS EU presents a professional, trustworthy, and content-rich online presence suitable for its academic and collaborative mission. Strategic recommendations include enabling DNSSEC, adding security headers, publishing security and incident response policies, and enhancing accessibility features to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

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 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 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

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

Keep watching starseu.org

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

€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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. See sample alerts.

Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
  • Lifetime access to this report

Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
67
Security headers
35
Email security
70
DNS health
50
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
67

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

STARS EU operates as a collaborative academic alliance targeting European universities, students, researchers, and regional innovation stakeholders. Its competitive advantage lies in its multi-university partnership model, offering joint academic programs and innovation services that address global challenges. The business model is based on collaboration, mobility, and knowledge transfer, supported by seed grants and innovation acceleration. The alliance's partnership ecosystem includes reputable European universities, enhancing its market position. Growth indicators include active calls for participation, events, and a large student and staff base. The website content and social media presence reflect a mature and professional operation.

Security posture

The website's security maturity is moderate to good. HTTPS is enforced, and Google reCAPTCHA is used to protect forms. Cookie consent is implemented with granular categories, supporting GDPR compliance. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security are absent, which could improve protection against common web attacks. No incident response or security policy pages were found, indicating a gap in transparency and preparedness. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. Overall, the security posture is adequate but could be enhanced with additional measures and documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to strengthen domain name system security.
  2. Implement security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  4. Enhance website accessibility to meet higher compliance standards.
  5. Regularly audit and update plugins and themes to mitigate vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
STARS EU
Description
STARS EU links nine European universities to advance sustainability, education, research, and innovation through collaboration and mobility. It is an alliance between nine complementary European universities to promote exchange of ideas, people, and innovation in research and teaching to address unprecedented social change.
Key services
Academic programs (joint degrees, micro-credentials, blended intensive programs), Research support and seed grants, Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office services, Mobility programs for students and staff, Innovation and regional transition acceleration
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.3, Yoast SEO plugin, Slider Revolution 6.7.18, jQuery 3.7.1, Google reCAPTCHA, EventON calendar plugin, MapsSVG, MediaElement.js
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA for forms
  • Cookie consent banner with granular categories

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Marketing tools
Yoast SEO
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and content-rich
  2. Strong focus on academic collaboration and innovation
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent mechanism implemented
  4. No exposed sensitive data or security misconfigurations detected
  5. No direct contact emails or phone numbers visible on homepage; contact form present
  6. Social media presence is active and linked
  7. No security.txt or explicit vulnerability disclosure found
  8. No explicit security or incident response policies published
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.8.3, leveraging popular plugins such as Yoast SEO for search engine optimization, Slider Revolution for interactive sliders, and EventON for event management. It uses jQuery 3.7.1 and Google reCAPTCHA for form security. The site loads external resources from Google APIs and social media platforms. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization. Accessibility features are basic but present. The technical stack is modern and well-maintained, though enabling DNSSEC and adding security headers would improve the overall technical security posture.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with starseu.org. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review starseu.org.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.