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Security report for vaud.swiss

VAUD · Government · Switzerland

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

Security score

57/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Vaud.ch is the official website representing the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, focusing on promoting the region's tourism, economy, culture, and local products. It serves a broad audience including residents, tourists, local producers, and ambassadors, providing comprehensive information and services to enhance regional engagement and economic development. The website is well-positioned as a trusted government portal with strong branding and clear communication channels. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with modern integrations such as Google Tag Manager, Matomo analytics, Facebook Pixel, and Cookiebot for consent management. The infrastructure supports good mobile optimization and SEO practices, although some security headers could be improved. The site uses HTTPS with excellent SSL configuration, ensuring secure communications. From a security perspective, the website demonstrates good practices including encrypted connections and privacy compliance with GDPR. However, it lacks explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, which are recommended for enhanced transparency and trust. Overall, Vaud.ch is a professional, secure, and privacy-conscious government website with excellent content quality and user experience. Strategic improvements in security policy publication and header implementation would further strengthen its posture.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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

5 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 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 Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google APIs

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

  3. Network security

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

    • High

      High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

      Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

      What to do: Consider restricting access to FTP or implementing strong authentication

      • 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

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

Keep watching vaud.swiss

This scan found 22 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
85
Security headers
30
Email security
60
DNS health
80
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
65
Average
57

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 vaud.swiss, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for vaud.swiss 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 Canton of Vaud leverages this website as a strategic tool to promote its regional assets including tourism, local products, and economic opportunities. The business model is government-driven, focusing on regional development and community engagement. The site highlights certifications like VAUD CERTIFIÉ D’ICI and VAUD AMBASSADEUR to build trust and showcase quality. The presence of multiple social media channels and partnerships with local tourism sites indicates a robust ecosystem aimed at maximizing outreach and impact. The website content and structure support a high level of professionalism and market positioning as a leading regional government portal in Switzerland.

Security posture

The website maintains a solid security posture with HTTPS enforced and use of consent management tools. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options, and lack of published security policies or incident response contacts, represent areas for improvement. The use of third-party analytics and tracking pixels is balanced with privacy compliance, but continuous monitoring of these integrations is advised to mitigate risks. Overall, the security maturity is good but can be enhanced with formalized policies and additional technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and user trust.
  3. Establish a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking pixels to ensure they do not introduce vulnerabilities or privacy risks.
  5. Enhance accessibility features and conduct periodic security assessments to maintain compliance with evolving standards.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Vaud Promotion
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
VAUD
Description
Entre lacs et montagnes et au cœur de l’Europe, le Canton de Vaud est un territoire hors norme qui réunit qualité de vie, terroir, culture, sport et économie.
Key services
Tourism promotion, Economic development, Cultural events, Local product certification, Community engagement
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 6.8.1, Google Tag Manager, Matomo Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Cookiebot, jQuery, Bootstrap Grid, FontAwesome, Lazy Load, Lordicon
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of consent management platform (Cookiebot)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo, Google Analytics (via GTM), Facebook Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Matomo
Marketing tools
Cookiebot, Facebook Pixel, Matomo
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Official government website for Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.
  2. Comprehensive multilingual content (French, English, German).
  3. Strong focus on tourism, local products, economy, and culture.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  5. Clear contact information and social media presence.
  6. Good privacy and cookie policy implementation with consent management.
  7. No signs of malicious or suspicious content.
  8. No visible security policy or incident response information.
  9. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt found.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress 6.8.1, utilizing a modern tech stack including Bootstrap for responsive design, FontAwesome for icons, and lazy loading for performance optimization. Analytics are managed through Matomo and Google Tag Manager, with Facebook Pixel for marketing insights. Cookiebot is used for GDPR-compliant cookie consent. The site demonstrates good SEO practices with comprehensive meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). Performance is moderate, with room for improvement in loading speed and accessibility. No hosting provider details were explicitly found. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and scalable web presence.
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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