Skip to main content

Security report for uni-due.de

Universität Duisburg-Essen · Education · Germany

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

59/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Universität Duisburg-Essen is a prominent German university offering a wide range of educational and research services. The website reflects a well-established institution with a clear focus on serving students, researchers, alumni, and staff. It provides comprehensive information about study programs, research activities, campus life, and international cooperation. The university maintains a strong digital presence with official social media channels and updated news content. Technically, the website is built on the IMPERIA CMS platform and uses standard web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and jQuery. It incorporates MathJax for mathematical content rendering. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with good SEO practices evident. However, some modern security headers and explicit security policies are not visible, indicating room for improvement in security hardening. From a security perspective, the site uses HTTPS (implied by domain and standard practice, though SSL details are not explicit in the data). No WAF or blocking mechanisms were detected, and no critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found in the HTML content. Privacy compliance is supported by a comprehensive GDPR privacy policy, but cookie consent mechanisms are lacking. Contact information is clearly provided, enhancing trust and credibility. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-maintained, suitable for its educational mission. Strategic improvements in security headers, cookie consent, and incident response disclosures would further strengthen its 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

5 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

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • 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

  2. 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 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';…

  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 uni-due.de

This scan found 29 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. The full timeline opens with your unlock code.

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
62
Security headers
40
Email security
60
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
28
Average
59

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 Universität Duisburg-Essen operates as a large public educational institution in Germany, serving a broad audience including prospective and current students, researchers, alumni, and staff. Its business model centers on education, research, and knowledge transfer, supported by public funding. The university leverages a strong brand with consistent messaging and a comprehensive digital presence. Its partnership ecosystem includes regional and international collaborations, as evidenced by linked domains and international office references. The university's market position is solid within the German higher education sector, with a focus on innovation and community engagement. Revenue streams are typical for public universities, including government funding, research grants, and tuition-related services. Growth indicators include active event programming, research news, and digital tools for study orientation.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate security maturity level. HTTPS is presumably enforced, but explicit SSL configuration details are not provided. No security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options were detected in the HTML content, which are recommended to mitigate common web attacks. There is no visible security or incident response policy page, nor dedicated contact channels for security incidents. No forms collecting sensitive data are present on the main page, reducing immediate risk exposure. The absence of cookie consent mechanisms may pose GDPR compliance risks. Overall, the site shows no critical vulnerabilities but would benefit from enhanced security controls and transparency to improve its security posture and compliance readiness.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to enhance protection against common web vulnerabilities.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to comply fully with GDPR requirements and improve user privacy transparency.
  3. Publish explicit security and incident response policies on the website, including dedicated contact channels for reporting security incidents or abuse.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and scripts to ensure no known vulnerabilities are present.
  5. Enhance SSL/TLS configuration and perform regular security scans to maintain strong encryption standards and detect potential weaknesses.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Universität Duisburg-Essen
Description
Die Universität Duisburg-Essen ist eine deutsche Universität, die Studieninteressierten, Studierenden, Forschenden und weiteren Zielgruppen vielfältige Bildungs- und Forschungsangebote bietet. Sie positioniert sich als moderne, forschungsstarke Hochschule mit umfangreichen Services und internationaler Ausrichtung.
Key services
Studiengänge und Studienberatung, Forschung und Forschungsprojekte, Veranstaltungen und kulturelles Leben, Alumninetzwerk, Karriereportal, Bibliothek und Campusservices
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, MathJax
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
60/100

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 fully accessible with rich content and no blocking detected.
  2. Content is primarily in German with some English language options.
  3. Strong presence of official university branding and consistent navigation.
  4. Multiple official contact methods including emails and phone numbers are provided.
  5. No explicit privacy or security policy pages beyond GDPR privacy policy detected.
  6. No cookie consent banner or explicit cookie policy found.
  7. No visible forms collecting personal data on the main page.
  8. Social media presence is broad and official.
  9. No advertising or tracking scripts detected in the provided HTML.
  10. No security headers or explicit security policies detected in the HTML content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on the IMPERIA CMS platform version 9.2.14, utilizing standard web technologies such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and jQuery. MathJax is used for rendering mathematical content, indicating support for academic and scientific materials. The site includes responsive design elements and mobile optimization, ensuring accessibility across devices. Performance appears moderate, with no explicit performance optimization scripts detected. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured navigation. No advanced frameworks like React or Angular are detected, suggesting a traditional server-rendered architecture. Hosting provider details are not explicit, but DNS name servers indicate university-managed infrastructure. The technical stack is stable but could benefit from modernization and enhanced security configurations.
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

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 14/100Critical15 findings · partial scanView report
Reviews of this site

Share your experience with uni-due.de. 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 uni-due.de.

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.