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Security report for steb-koeln.de

Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln, AöR · Energy · Germany

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

61/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln, AöR is a municipal water management and wastewater service provider operating in Cologne, Germany. The organization focuses on wastewater treatment, flood protection, and environmental water body maintenance, serving a broad audience including residents, property owners, and job seekers. Their market position is that of a key public service entity with a medium-sized operational scale. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand presence with clear navigation and relevant content tailored to its target groups. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including React, jQuery, and Matomo analytics, complemented by a robust consent management platform (Usercentrics) ensuring GDPR compliance. Hosting appears stable with reputable nameservers. The site is mobile-optimized and uses HTTPS with good security practices, although some security headers could be improved. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates a solid posture with encrypted connections, privacy-focused analytics, and cookie consent mechanisms. However, it lacks explicit security policies and incident response contacts, which could enhance trust and preparedness. No vulnerabilities or suspicious elements were detected in the content or WHOIS data. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professionally maintained, and compliant with privacy regulations. It effectively supports the organization's mission and public service role, with recommendations to enhance security headers and publish formal security policies for further maturity.

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

6 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 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';…

  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 steb-koeln.de

This scan found 27 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

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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
52
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
68
Average
61

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 operates as a public utility in the energy and environmental sector, specifically focusing on water and wastewater management in Cologne. Its business model is service-oriented, funded likely through municipal budgets and fees for services such as wastewater disposal and flood protection. The website indicates active engagement with stakeholders through news, career opportunities, and customer satisfaction surveys. Partnerships with certification bodies and environmental organizations enhance credibility. The presence of multiple social media channels and interactive tools like 3D flood risk maps suggest a commitment to transparency and community engagement. Growth indicators include ongoing infrastructure projects and digital service offerings.

Security posture

The website maintains a good security baseline with HTTPS enforced and privacy-respecting analytics configurations. The use of Usercentrics for consent management aligns with GDPR requirements. However, the absence of explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms indicates room for improvement in security governance. Security headers beyond HTTPS are not clearly implemented, which could expose the site to certain web-based attacks. No signs of malware, phishing, or data leakage were found. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a municipal service website but could be enhanced with formal documentation and additional technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen web security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and preparedness.
  3. Consider creating a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Enhance accessibility features to improve usability for all users, including those with disabilities.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and libraries to ensure no vulnerabilities or outdated components are present.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Stadtentwässerungsbetriebe Köln, AöR
Description
Dienstleistungsunternehmen der Wasserwirtschaft und Baustein der öffentlichen Daseinsvorsorge. Reinigung von Abwasser, Schutz vor Überflutungen, Verbesserung der Gewässerqualität, Pflege von Bächen und Weihern, Förderung einer wassersensiblen und klimaresilienten Stadt.
Key services
Abwasserentsorgung, Hochwasserschutz, Gewässerpflege, Kanalanschluss, Funktionsprüfung, Kundenzufriedenheitsumfragen
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Matomo Analytics, jQuery, Modernizr, React (indicated by React DevTools hook), Usercentrics CMP, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Frameworks
React
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Do Not Track enabled in Matomo
  • Consent management via Usercentrics
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Usercentrics Consent Management Platform
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a municipal service provider for water and wastewater management in Cologne.
  2. Content is well-structured with clear navigation and target audience segmentation.
  3. Strong presence of privacy and cookie compliance mechanisms.
  4. Use of modern analytics and consent management tools.
  5. No signs of security blocking or WAF interference.
  6. Certifications and trust indicators are prominently displayed.
  7. No contact emails explicitly found in the HTML; phone contact and contact form present.
  8. No terms of service page detected.
  9. No explicit security policy or incident response information found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including React for frontend components, jQuery for legacy support, and Matomo alongside Google Analytics for user tracking. Consent management is handled by Usercentrics, ensuring compliance with privacy laws. The site is hosted on servers indicated by nameservers ns1.your-server.de and related domains, suggesting a professional hosting environment. Performance is moderate with asynchronous script loading and responsive design for mobile devices. Some legacy support scripts (e.g., respond.min.js for IE8) are included, indicating attention to backward compatibility. SEO is basic with meta tags present but no advanced structured data like JSON-LD detected. Overall, the technical implementation is solid with opportunities for modernization and enhanced SEO.
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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