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Security report for stiftung-nordwest.de

Stiftung der Metallindustrie im Nord-Westen (SMNW) · Non-profit · Germany

High risk. 9 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Network security and 2 other checks.

Security score

45/100

Risk levelHigh

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

The Stiftung der Metallindustrie im Nord-Westen (SMNW) is a well-established non-profit foundation founded in 2007, focused on promoting education, science, culture, and social initiatives in the northwestern region of Germany. With a significant capital base, it plays an important role in supporting regional development and the metallurgical and electrical industries indirectly through its funding and projects. The website reflects a professional and consistent brand presence, targeting regional institutions and stakeholders with clear, relevant content and regular updates. Technically, the website is built on WordPress using common plugins such as Contact Form 7 and Autoptimize, with jQuery and jQuery UI libraries. The site is mobile-optimized and performs moderately well, with good SEO and accessibility basics. Hosting is managed via domaincontrol.com DNS, a common provider. The site uses HTTPS with strong SSL configuration but lacks some advanced security headers and cookie consent mechanisms. From a security perspective, the site demonstrates good baseline practices including HTTPS enforcement and no visible sensitive data exposure. However, it lacks explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms. No WAF or blocking mechanisms are detected, and no suspicious or malicious content is present. Privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent banner. Overall, the site is trustworthy and professional with a solid business credibility score. Recommendations include implementing cookie consent for GDPR compliance, adding security headers, publishing a security.txt file, and enhancing incident response transparency to improve security posture and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
28/ 100 · High
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

9 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

  2. Network security

    Services reachable from the internet are the first thing attackers probe. Anything open that does not need to be should be closed.

    • Critical

      Critical Service Exposed: MySQL

      Port 3306 (MySQL) is publicly accessible - MySQL - Database server

      What to do: Immediately restrict access to MySQL using firewall or VPN

      • NIS2 21(2)(e)
      • IR 2024/2690 6.7.2(f): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 6.7.2(f): Network security
      • NIST CM-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 CM-7: Least Functionality
      • NIST SC-7: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-7: Boundary Protection

  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';…

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

Keep watching stiftung-nordwest.de

This scan found 26 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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  • 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
77
Security headers
15
Email security
82
DNS health
70
Network security
0
GDPR outside view
28
Average
45

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 · found on this site
  • 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

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention stiftung-nordwest.de, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for stiftung-nordwest.de right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The foundation holds a strong regional market position as a significant non-profit entity with a capital of nine million euros, enabling it to fund and initiate impactful projects in education, research, culture, and social welfare. Its business model revolves around grant-making and network building to address societal challenges in the Nordwest region of Germany. The target customers are educational institutions, research bodies, cultural organizations, and social service providers. The foundation's competitive advantage lies in its focused regional impact and longstanding presence since 2007. The website indicates active engagement through news updates and initiatives like the Innometer innovation prize. The absence of commercial advertising and affiliate programs aligns with its non-profit nature. Partnerships or subsidiaries are not explicitly mentioned, suggesting an independent operational model.

Security posture

The website exhibits a moderate to good security maturity level. HTTPS is properly implemented with no mixed content issues. However, the absence of security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No vulnerability disclosure or incident response information is provided, which limits transparency and readiness for security incidents. The use of common WordPress plugins necessitates regular updates to mitigate known vulnerabilities. No signs of exposed credentials or malicious scripts were found. Privacy compliance is partial, lacking cookie consent mechanisms. Overall, the security posture is adequate for a non-profit informational site but could be improved by adopting best practices and formal policies.

Recommendations

  1. Implement a cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and improve privacy compliance.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  3. Publish a security.txt file to provide clear vulnerability disclosure and incident response contact information.
  4. Regularly audit and update WordPress core and plugins to mitigate vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance transparency by adding a dedicated security policy and incident response page.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Stiftung der Metallindustrie im Nord-Westen (SMNW)
Description
Förderung von Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung, Kunst und Kultur sowie von sozialen Maßnahmen und Einrichtungen in der Region Nordwest. Die Stiftung bündelt Kräfte und intensiviert Netzwerke, um gesellschaftliche Probleme zu lösen und den Standort Nordwest nachhaltig zu stärken.
Key services
Funding education projects, Supporting science and research, Promoting arts and culture, Backing social initiatives
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Contact Form 7, WordPress, jQuery UI, Autoptimize
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
WordPress CMS
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 cookies with SameSite=Lax

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is professionally presented in German language targeting regional stakeholders.
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banner found, which could be improved for GDPR compliance.
  4. Contact information is clearly provided including email, phone, and physical address.
  5. No social media links detected on the homepage or footer.
  6. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure policy found.
  7. Uses WordPress CMS with common plugins like Contact Form 7 and Autoptimize.
  8. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
  9. Good use of Open Graph metadata for social sharing.
  10. No explicit terms of service page found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a standard technology stack including jQuery, jQuery UI, and Contact Form 7 for form handling. CSS is optimized using Autoptimize plugin. The site uses domaincontrol.com DNS servers, indicating hosting or domain management via GoDaddy services. Performance is moderate with responsive design adapting images and layout for various screen sizes. SEO is supported by proper meta tags including Open Graph for social sharing. Accessibility is basic but present, with localized date pickers and readable fonts. No advanced frameworks or headless CMS detected. The site could benefit from improved security headers and enhanced privacy controls. Overall, the technical infrastructure is stable and suitable for the foundation's informational and outreach purposes.
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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