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Security report for vlaanderen.be

Vlaamse overheid · Government · Belgium

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in Security headers and SSL/TLS.

Security score

79/100

Risk levelLow

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

Vlaanderen.be is the official website of the Flemish government, providing comprehensive information and digital services to residents and businesses in Flanders, Belgium. The site serves as a central hub for government policies, news, publications, job vacancies, and contact information across multiple policy domains. It targets a broad audience including citizens, businesses, and public servants, positioning itself as a trusted and authoritative source of government information. Technically, the website is built on modern frameworks such as Nuxt.js and Vue.js, leveraging advanced technologies like Algolia for search and Cloudinary for media management. The site demonstrates excellent performance, mobile optimization, and accessibility, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. Security is robust with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place, although explicit security headers could be more visible. The security posture is strong with no evident vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear privacy and cookie policies, GDPR adherence, and transparent contact options. However, the WHOIS data is restricted, limiting domain registration transparency, which slightly impacts trust but is likely due to DNS Belgium policies rather than malicious intent. Overall, Vlaanderen.be is a high-quality, secure, and trustworthy government website with excellent content and user experience. Strategic recommendations include enhancing visible security headers, publishing a vulnerability disclosure policy, and providing explicit incident response contacts to further strengthen security and trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
88/ 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

2 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 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 SSL Key Length

      SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching vlaanderen.be

This scan found 17 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
75
Security headers
60
Email security
83
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
88
Average
79

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 Flemish government operates Vlaanderen.be as its official digital presence, serving as a critical communication and service platform for the region. Its market position is unique as a government entity, focusing on public service rather than commercial revenue. The business model centers on information dissemination and citizen engagement. Key services include policy information, digital government services, news updates, and employment opportunities within the government. The site supports multiple languages, indicating a commitment to inclusivity and accessibility. Partnerships with external service providers like Algolia and Cloudinary enhance functionality. Growth indicators include continuous content updates and integration of digital tools. The platform's ecosystem is government-centric with no commercial affiliations, emphasizing transparency and public trust.

Security posture

Vlaanderen.be exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, cookie consent mechanisms, and no visible security vulnerabilities. The use of modern frameworks and third-party services is managed securely, with no exposed sensitive data in the HTML. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not clearly visible in the provided data and should be confirmed. There is no publicly visible incident response or vulnerability disclosure information, which is a common gap in government websites but important for transparency and security culture. The site complies with GDPR and provides clear contact information, supporting data protection principles. Overall, the security maturity is high but could be improved with more explicit security policy disclosures and incident response contacts.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publicly document comprehensive security headers including CSP, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  2. Publish a formal vulnerability disclosure policy and security contact information to encourage responsible reporting.
  3. Enhance transparency by providing explicit Data Protection Officer contact details and incident response procedures.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and dependencies to mitigate supply chain risks.
  5. Maintain and update cookie consent mechanisms to align with evolving privacy regulations and user expectations.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Vlaamse overheid
Description
Officiële website van de Vlaamse overheid providing information and services related to the Flemish government and its various policy domains.
Key services
Information on government policies, Access to digital government services, News and publications, Job vacancies at the Flemish government, Contact and complaint handling
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Nuxt.js, Vue.js, Pinia, Lodash, Cloudinary, Algolia Search, MTCaptcha
Frameworks
Nuxt.js, Vue.js
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with opt-in/out
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure search forms with no visible vulnerabilities

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
excellent

Advertising

Marketing tools
Algolia Search, MTCaptcha
Transparency
excellent

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 structured data.
  2. Strong focus on government services and citizen information.
  3. Multiple language versions available (nl, en, fr, de).
  4. Cookie consent and privacy policies are prominently implemented.
  5. No signs of phishing, malware, or suspicious activity.
  6. WHOIS data is restricted, limiting domain registration transparency.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern JavaScript framework stack with Nuxt.js and Vue.js, enabling server-side rendering and good SEO. Integration with Algolia provides efficient search capabilities, while Cloudinary manages media assets effectively. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with a responsive design and skip links for screen readers. Performance appears fast with module preloading and asynchronous script loading. The use of MTCaptcha indicates anti-bot measures. The CMS appears custom or government-specific, supporting complex content structures and multilingual support. Technical risks are minimal but include reliance on third-party scripts which require ongoing security monitoring.
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. 81/100 +2Low24 findingsView report
  2. 79/100Low26 findingsView report
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