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Security report for uni-goettingen.de

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen · Education · Germany

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

56/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Georg-August-Universität Göttingen is a large, internationally recognized public research university founded in 1737, offering a broad spectrum of academic programs across 13 faculties. The website reflects a mature digital presence with a professional design, clear navigation, and comprehensive content aimed at students, researchers, and the public. Technically, the site employs a custom CMS (GCMS) and modern frontend libraries such as Bootstrap and jQuery, with good mobile optimization and accessibility. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement and privacy-conscious analytics via Matomo with opt-in consent. However, explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not publicly available, representing an area for improvement. Overall, the domain registration and hosting align well with the university's identity, confirming legitimacy and trustworthiness.

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

7 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 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';…

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Keep watching uni-goettingen.de

This scan found 28 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
52
Security headers
35
Email security
55
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
28
Average
56

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-goettingen.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
9,258
Employees
130
Customers
7,725
Third parties
1,403
Weak passwords
12%

Latest record dated 2026-06-15 · 237 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-goettingen.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –shibboleth-idp.uni-goettingen.de2026-06-15
  • –shibboleth-idp.uni-goettingen.de2026-06-07
  • –ioqs.uni-goettingen.de2026-05-29
  • –shibboleth-idp.uni-goettingen.de2026-05-28
  • –shibboleth-idp.uni-goettingen.de2026-05-27

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 as a public institution with a strong research focus. Its market position is solidified by its long history and international reputation. The business model centers on providing higher education and research services, supported by partnerships with academic networks such as Göttingen Campus and European university alliances. The website supports recruitment, information dissemination, and community engagement. Growth indicators include active news updates, event calendars, and integration with multiple digital platforms. The partnership ecosystem is robust, enhancing academic collaboration and visibility.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a good security maturity level with enforced HTTPS, cookie consent mechanisms, and privacy-respecting analytics. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the absence of published security policies, incident response contacts, and security headers suggests room for enhancement in transparency and defense-in-depth. Compliance with GDPR is evident through privacy and cookie policies. Incident response readiness and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms are not clearly communicated, which could impact trust in security incident handling.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information, such as a security@ or abuse@ email address.
  3. Implement and configure security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection.
  4. Consider creating and publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party libraries and dependencies to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Description
Die Universität Göttingen ist eine international bedeutende Forschungsuniversität mit langer Tradition. 1737 im Zeitalter der Aufklärung gegründet, fühlt sie sich den Werten von Demokratie, Toleranz und Gerechtigkeit sowie der gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung von Wissenschaft verpflichtet. Als erste Volluniversität in Deutschland wurde sie 2003 in die Trägerschaft einer Stiftung Öffentlichen Rechts überführt. Mit 13 Fakultäten deckt sie ein differenziertes Fächerspektrum in den Natur-, Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften sowie der Medizin ab. Etwa 28.000 Studierende verteilen sich auf mehr als 210 Studiengänge.
Key services
higher education, research, academic programs, public outreach
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.5.1, Bootstrap 3.4.1, FontAwesome 5.14.0, Fancybox 3.5.7, Matomo Analytics, Slick Carousel
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent banner with opt-in/out for Matomo analytics
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Content blocker for iframes and social media
  • Use of Matomo with opt-in tracking

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is rich, professionally presented, and well-structured.
  3. Strong emphasis on privacy compliance with cookie consent and privacy policy.
  4. Use of Matomo analytics with opt-in/out mechanisms shows privacy awareness.
  5. No visible security policy or incident response contact details publicly available.
  6. Multiple social media channels linked, enhancing trust and outreach.
  7. WHOIS data and DNS servers confirm legitimate hosting and domain ownership.
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  9. Website uses a custom CMS (GCMS) tailored for the university.
  10. Mobile optimization and accessibility are well implemented.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a custom CMS (GCMS) tailored for the university's needs, combined with well-known frontend libraries including Bootstrap 3.4.1, jQuery 3.5.1, FontAwesome 5.14.0, and Fancybox 3.5.7. Matomo analytics is integrated with user consent management, reflecting privacy awareness. The hosting is managed by the Göttingen State and University Library and Computing Center (gwdg.de), indicating reliable infrastructure. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness and accessibility features. SEO is supported by comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph data. The site architecture supports clear navigation and user experience. Opportunities exist to modernize some frontend libraries and enhance security headers for improved resilience.
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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