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Security report for w-hs.de

Westfälische Hochschule · Education · Germany

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Westfälische Hochschule is a German university of applied sciences with campuses in Gelsenkirchen, Bocholt, and Recklinghausen. The institution focuses on practical education in engineering, business, and natural sciences, offering degree programs, research, and cooperation with industry partners. The website is built on TYPO3 CMS and features a modern, accessible design with active news and event updates. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS enabled but lacks visible security headers and explicit privacy or cookie policies. No contact emails or phone numbers were found in the provided content, which may impact user trust and compliance. WHOIS data confirms the domain's legitimacy and institutional affiliation. Overall, the website is professional and trustworthy but could improve privacy compliance and security best practices.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
83/ 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

3 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

      SSL Certificate Expires Soon

      SSL certificate expires in 3 days

      What to do: Renew SSL certificate before expiration

      • NIS2 21(2)(h)
      • IR 2024/2690 9.2(c): Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, Annex point 9.2(c): Cryptography
      • NIST SC-17: NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SC-17: Public Key Infrastructure Certificates

  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 w-hs.de

This scan found 18 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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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
75
Security headers
70
Email security
70
DNS health
70
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
83
Average
65

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 w-hs.de, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
1,983
Employees
53
Customers
1,561
Third parties
369
Weak passwords
13%

Latest record dated 2026-06-09 · 52 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 w-hs.de.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –w-hs.de2026-06-09
  • –mail.w-hs.de2026-06-01
  • –mail.w-hs.de2026-05-30
  • –vpn-gateway.w-hs.de2026-05-27
  • –a3.za.w-hs.de2026-05-21

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 Westfälische Hochschule operates as a public higher education institution serving students, researchers, employees, companies, and media representatives. Its business model centers on education, research, and transfer activities. The institution maintains a regional market position with multiple campuses and a focus on applied sciences. The website supports this with detailed program information, quick links, and active communication channels such as news and events. Partnerships and cooperation with local industry and government entities are implied through linked domains and news content. The lack of explicit contact information and privacy policies suggests room for improvement in transparency and user engagement.

Security posture

The website uses HTTPS, ensuring encrypted communication. However, no security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or X-Frame-Options were detected, which are recommended to mitigate common web attacks. There is no visible security or incident response policy, nor contact channels for reporting security issues. Forms are present but no explicit security measures or privacy notices are evident. The absence of privacy and cookie policies indicates potential GDPR compliance gaps. Overall, the security posture is moderate but could be enhanced by implementing security headers, publishing policies, and providing incident response contacts.

Recommendations

  1. Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear consent mechanisms to improve GDPR compliance.
  2. Implement and configure security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
  3. Provide clear contact information including emails and phone numbers for general and security-related inquiries.
  4. Add an incident response page or contact channel to facilitate vulnerability reporting and response.
  5. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and CMS components to avoid vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Westfälische Hochschule
Description
Westfälische Hochschule is a German university of applied sciences focusing on practical knowledge and education in engineering, business, and natural sciences. It offers study programs, research, and cooperation with industry.
Key services
Academic degree programs (Bachelor, Master), Research and transfer, Continuing education, Student services, Industry cooperation
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
TYPO3 CMS, jQuery, Slick Slider
Frameworks
TYPO3
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
70/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a university site for Westfälische Hochschule in Germany.
  2. Content is in German with some English language option.
  3. Uses TYPO3 CMS with modern frontend libraries.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie policies found on the homepage or quick links.
  5. No visible contact emails or phone numbers in the provided content.
  6. Multiple news and event sections indicate active content management.
  7. No signs of advertising or tracking scripts detected in provided HTML.
  8. No security headers detected in the provided data; HTTPS is enabled.
  9. No WAF or blocking detected; site content is fully accessible.
  10. WHOIS data consistent with a legitimate academic institution.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is powered by TYPO3 CMS, a robust and widely used content management system. Frontend technologies include jQuery and Slick Slider for interactive elements. The site is mobile optimized and accessible with skip links and ARIA attributes. Performance is moderate, with compressed CSS and JS assets. SEO is supported by canonical links and meta tags. Hosting details are not explicit, but DNS uses DFN name servers, indicating academic network hosting. No analytics or tracking scripts were detected in the provided content, suggesting minimal user tracking. The site could benefit from enhanced security headers and explicit privacy notices to align with modern web standards.
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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