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Security report for uni-bielefeld.de

Bielefeld University · Education · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

67/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Bielefeld University is a well-established, internationally recognized research-intensive university in Germany, offering a broad range of academic programs and research initiatives. The institution emphasizes interdisciplinarity, diversity, and innovative teaching, targeting prospective and current students, researchers, and academic staff. The website reflects a professional and comprehensive digital presence with clear navigation and rich content tailored to its academic audience. Technically, the site employs modern web standards and responsive design, hosted likely by a reputable German research network provider. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and cookie consent mechanisms, though explicit security policies and headers could be enhanced. Overall, the site demonstrates strong compliance with privacy regulations and maintains a trustworthy and professional image.

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

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 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. 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 uni-bielefeld.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
62
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
83
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

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 uni-bielefeld.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
3,125
Employees
364
Customers
2,128
Third parties
633
Weak passwords
14%

Latest record dated 2026-06-20 · 95 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for uni-bielefeld.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –www.uni-bielefeld.de2026-06-20
  • –uni-bielefeld.de2026-06-17
  • –wlan-guest.uni-bielefeld.de2026-06-17
  • –mail.uni-bielefeld.de2026-06-14
  • –www.uni-bielefeld.de2026-06-14

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)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 university operates in the education sector with a focus on research and teaching excellence. It maintains a large-scale operation with multiple faculties and international collaborations. The business model is public academic education and research funding, supported by national and EU grants. The institution's market position is strong within Germany and internationally, supported by certifications and quality audits. The website's ecosystem includes partnerships with governmental and academic organizations, reflecting a robust academic network. Growth indicators include active research projects and internationalization efforts. The university's digital presence supports student recruitment, academic communication, and community engagement.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforcement and a GDPR-compliant cookie consent mechanism. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security headers and published security policies or incident response contacts suggests room for improvement. The lack of a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file limits transparency for security researchers. Overall, the security measures align with standard academic website practices but could be enhanced to meet higher security standards and compliance frameworks.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive HTTP security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate supply chain risks.
  5. Enhance cookie consent management with granular controls and detailed data retention disclosures.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Bielefeld University
Description
Bielefeld University is an internationally regarded research-intensive university known for top-level research and innovative teaching concepts. It contributes to a progressive and participatory knowledge society and offers a family-friendly environment characterized by open communication, interdisciplinarity, diversity, and freedom for personal development.
Key services
Higher education courses, Research projects and transfer, Academic career development, Student support and counselling, International programs, Events and cultural activities
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Hyphenopoly (hyphenation library), AsyncPicture component for responsive images
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS usage (implied by canonical URL https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/)
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No vulnerable libraries detected in scripts

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a professional university site with comprehensive academic and student information.
  2. Strong emphasis on research, teaching, internationalization, and student support.
  3. Good use of modern web technologies and responsive design.
  4. Cookie consent and privacy policies are prominently implemented and GDPR compliant.
  5. No signs of malicious content or security issues in the HTML content.
  6. Social media presence is active on major platforms except Twitter which is hidden.
  7. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found in the HTML content.
  8. No explicit security or incident response policies published on the site.
  9. Certifications and awards related to equality, sustainability, and quality management are displayed.
  10. No advertising or tracking scripts detected in the provided content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a custom or proprietary CMS with modern HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript technologies including Hyphenopoly for hyphenation and AsyncPicture for responsive images. The site is hosted likely by the German Research Network (DFN), ensuring reliable infrastructure. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. The site lacks explicit CMS identification but shows a well-structured and maintainable codebase. Opportunities exist to improve performance by optimizing image delivery and implementing advanced caching strategies. Technical risks are minimal but should be monitored through regular security assessments.
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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