Skip to main content

Security report for vhs-nrw.de

Landesverband der Volkshochschulen von NRW e.V. · Education · Germany

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

Security score

58/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The Landesverband der Volkshochschulen von NRW e.V. is a large, well-established non-profit educational association representing 131 Volkshochschulen (adult education centers) across North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The organization focuses on providing accessible continuing education, promoting democracy, integration, sustainability, and digital literacy. Their website reflects a professional and comprehensive digital presence, leveraging WordPress with Elementor and Yoast SEO for content management and optimization. The site is well-structured, mobile-optimized, and includes clear navigation and rich content tailored to their target audience of local residents and educational stakeholders. Security posture is strong with HTTPS, cookie consent mechanisms, and no detected vulnerabilities, although some security headers could be improved. The presence of ISO 9001 certification and transparent contact information enhances trust and credibility. Overall, the website demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure supporting the organization's mission effectively.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
6of 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 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. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • 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

  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 vhs-nrw.de

This scan found 24 issues across 5 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. See sample alerts.

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
72
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
60
GDPR outside view
73
Average
58

Not counted

  • Network security: did not complete in this scan.
  • 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 organization holds a leading position in the adult education sector within NRW, Germany, acting as the primary advocacy and coordination body for Volkshochschulen. Their business model is non-profit and community-focused, emphasizing educational services and political engagement. The website's content and structure indicate a focus on transparency, quality assurance, and community outreach. Partnerships with platforms like vhs.cloud and volkshochschule.de suggest a collaborative ecosystem. The use of Matomo analytics and Borlabs Cookie for privacy compliance reflects a commitment to data protection. The organization targets a broad demographic including learners, educators, and policymakers, with growth potential in digital education and sustainability initiatives.

Security posture

The website employs HTTPS with a good SSL configuration and uses cookie consent tools to comply with GDPR. While no critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were found, the absence of explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options is noted. There is no public incident response or vulnerability disclosure policy visible, which could be improved. The use of reputable plugins and regular updates is implied but should be verified. Overall, the security posture is solid for a non-profit educational site but could benefit from enhanced header policies and published security practices.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to mitigate common web attacks.
  2. Publish a security.txt file or a dedicated vulnerability disclosure policy to improve transparency and incident response readiness.
  3. Regularly audit and update all CMS components and plugins to minimize risk from vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance incident response information availability on the website for stakeholders.
  5. Continue to monitor and optimize website performance and accessibility to maintain high user experience standards.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Landesverband der Volkshochschulen von NRW e.V.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Landesverband der Volkshochschulen von NRW e.V.
Description
Landesweiter vhs-Aktionstag zur Stärkung der Demokratie. 131 Volkshochschulen in Nordrhein-Westfalen bilden das flächendeckende Netz der kommunalen Weiterbildungszentren in NRW. Der Landesverband ist die bildungspolitische Interessenvertretung der Volkshochschulen und größte Landesorganisation der gemeinwohlorientierten Weiterbildung in NRW.
Key services
Advocacy for Volkshochschulen, Educational program coordination, Quality assurance and certifications, Information and service provision for member Volkshochschulen
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Elementor, Yoast SEO, Borlabs Cookie, FontAwesome, Swiper.js
Frameworks
Elementor
Platforms
WordPress
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism via Borlabs Cookie
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of reputable plugins and libraries

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Yoast SEO, Borlabs Cookie
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 well-structured, professional, and targeted at adult education in NRW, Germany.
  3. Strong use of structured data and SEO best practices.
  4. Clear contact information and privacy compliance.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and CMS plugins.
  6. Presence of ISO 9001 certification badge enhances trust.
  7. No signs of suspicious or malicious content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with Elementor page builder and Yoast SEO plugin, indicating a modern and flexible content management approach. It uses Borlabs Cookie for GDPR-compliant cookie management and Matomo for privacy-focused analytics. The site loads CSS and JS assets optimized via Autoptimize caching. Hosting is managed via INWX DNS services, a reputable German provider. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with structured data implemented via JSON-LD for SEO enhancement. Performance is moderate, with potential for further optimization. No deprecated or vulnerable libraries were detected in the provided HTML content.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with vhs-nrw.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 vhs-nrw.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.