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Security report for wissenschaftliche-integritaet.de

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. · Government · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers and GDPR outside view.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

The website wissenschaftliche-integritaet.de is a professionally maintained portal operated by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG), Germany's central research funding organization. It serves as a reference and resource hub for scientific integrity, providing the official code of conduct and related commentary to promote good scientific practice within the German research community. The portal targets researchers, scientific institutions, and administrative leadership, supporting compliance with DFG funding requirements. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with a modern plugin ecosystem including Yoast SEO, Matomo analytics, and GDPR-compliant cookie management. The site is well-structured, mobile-optimized, and provides multilingual support. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and privacy-respecting analytics, though some security headers and explicit policies could be improved. Overall, the site reflects a high level of professionalism and trustworthiness consistent with a government/non-profit entity.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 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

4 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

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

Keep watching wissenschaftliche-integritaet.de

This scan found 21 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
100
Security headers
15
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
71

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 wissenschaftliche-integritaet.de, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for wissenschaftliche-integritaet.de 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 portal occupies a niche position as the authoritative source for scientific integrity guidelines in Germany, backed by the DFG. Its business model is informational and regulatory support rather than commercial, focusing on compliance facilitation and community engagement. The presence of a contact form for feedback and content contribution indicates an interactive approach. The site leverages partnerships with the DFG and integrates their branding and infrastructure. Growth indicators include regular content updates and multilingual support. The portal's ecosystem is tightly coupled with the DFG's broader research funding and governance framework, enhancing its credibility and reach.

Security posture

Security maturity is moderate to high. The site uses HTTPS exclusively and implements GDPR-compliant cookie consent with anonymized Matomo analytics, minimizing privacy risks. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the absence of explicit security headers (e.g., CSP, HSTS) and lack of a published security policy or incident response information are gaps. No vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file is present, which could improve transparency and trust. The site appears to follow best practices for data protection and user privacy, aligned with European regulations.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTP security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection against common web attacks.
  2. Publish a formal security policy and incident response plan accessible on the website to improve transparency and preparedness.
  3. Add a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure and improve security communication.
  4. Regularly audit and update WordPress plugins and themes to mitigate risks from third-party components.
  5. Enhance accessibility features and conduct periodic usability testing to ensure compliance with accessibility standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V.
Description
Das Portal stellt den Kodex "Leitlinien zur Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis" der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) bereit. Ziel ist die Verankerung einer Kultur wissenschaftlicher Integrität in der deutschen Wissenschaftslandschaft. Es bietet Orientierung für Wissenschaftler und wissenschaftliche Einrichtungen und unterstützt die Umsetzung der Leitlinien als Voraussetzung für Fördermittel durch die DFG.
Key services
Bereitstellung des Kodex zur wissenschaftlichen Integrität, Kommentierung und Erläuterung der Leitlinien, Informationen zur Umsetzung der Leitlinien, Aktuelle Beiträge und Veranstaltungen
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress, Yoast SEO, Smart Slider 3, jQuery, Matomo Analytics, Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent, Forminator Forms, WPML Multilingual CMS
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Matomo with anonymized IP tracking

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Matomo
Marketing tools
Matomo Analytics
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a well-maintained portal for scientific integrity by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
  2. Content is in German with English alternate language available.
  3. Cookie consent and privacy policies are implemented with GDPR compliance.
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found; contact is via form.
  5. No terms of service page detected.
  6. Use of Matomo analytics with anonymized IP addresses and clear data retention policy.
  7. No security.txt or explicit security policy found.
  8. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  9. Website uses WordPress with common plugins and appears professionally managed.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a suite of well-known plugins including Yoast SEO for search optimization, Smart Slider 3 for interactive content, WPML for multilingual support, and Forminator for form management. The use of Matomo analytics with anonymized IP addresses demonstrates a privacy-conscious approach to user tracking. The site loads scripts asynchronously and defers non-critical JavaScript, contributing to moderate performance. Mobile optimization is good with responsive design elements. The site lacks explicit hosting provider information but uses UI-DNS name servers. Technical debt appears low with modern coding practices, though some improvements in security headers and accessibility could be made to reduce risk and improve compliance.
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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