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Security report for xn--baw-joa.social

Landesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI Bawü) · Government · Germany

Medium risk. 4 critical or high findings in Email security, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

BaWü.social is a Mastodon social networking instance operated by the Landesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI Bawü), a governmental data protection authority in Germany. The platform serves as a privacy-focused, non-commercial social media service targeting residents and stakeholders in Baden-Württemberg interested in data protection and transparent communication. The website is well-branded, consistent, and provides a good user experience with a focus on privacy and federated social networking. Technically, the site runs Mastodon version 4.3.6 with modern web technologies including React and WebSocket streaming. The infrastructure appears stable and moderately performant with good mobile optimization. Security practices include HTTPS enforcement and subresource integrity, though some security headers are missing. Privacy compliance is good with a clear privacy policy, but lacks a cookie consent mechanism and terms of service. The security posture is solid with no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. The WHOIS data confirms legitimacy with consistent registration details matching the governmental entity. No advertising or tracking services are detected, supporting the privacy-centric mission. Overall, the site is trustworthy, safe, and professionally maintained. Strategic recommendations include adding explicit security headers, implementing cookie consent, publishing a security policy and incident response contacts, and adding a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file to enhance transparency and security readiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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

4 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • Critical

      No email authentication configured

      Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

      What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • 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 xn--baw-joa.social

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.

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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
72
Security headers
75
Email security
60
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
73

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

BaWü.social occupies a niche position as a regional government-operated Mastodon instance focused on privacy and data protection. Its competitive advantage lies in official backing by the LfDI Baden-Württemberg, lending trust and authority. The business model is non-commercial, providing a public service platform for federated social media participation. Target customers are privacy-conscious users and residents of Baden-Württemberg. Growth indicators include active user engagement and integration with the broader fediverse. The partnership ecosystem includes federated Mastodon instances and privacy advocacy groups. The operation emphasizes transparency, privacy, and governmental communication.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, use of subresource integrity for scripts and stylesheets, and no detected vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive information. However, the absence of certain security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. There is no publicly available security policy or incident response information, which could hinder rapid response to security incidents. Privacy compliance is strong with a GDPR-compliant privacy policy, but cookie consent mechanisms are missing. Overall, the security culture appears sound but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized incident response documentation.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to strengthen defense-in-depth.
  2. Add a cookie consent banner/mechanism to comply fully with privacy regulations and enhance user trust.
  3. Publish a detailed security policy and incident response plan accessible to users and stakeholders.
  4. Create and maintain a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly audit and update technical components to ensure continued security and performance.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Landesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI Bawü)
Description
Dies ist die Mastodon-Instanz des Landesbeauftragten für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit Baden-Württemberg (LfDI Bawü).
Key services
Mastodon social networking, Federated social media participation
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Mastodon 4.3.6, Ruby on Rails (implied by Mastodon), React (implied by Mastodon frontend), WebSocket (streaming API), SVG icons, CSS chunking and integrity hashes
Frameworks
Mastodon, Ruby on Rails (backend implied)
Platforms
Fediverse
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Subresource integrity (SRI) on scripts and stylesheets

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

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 Mastodon instance operated by a German government data protection authority
  2. Content is primarily in German with some English locale support
  3. No commercial advertising or tracking detected
  4. No forms for user registration as registrations are closed
  5. Strong emphasis on privacy and transparency
  6. Social media posts shown are public and related to privacy and political topics
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Mastodon 4.3.6, leveraging modern frontend technologies such as React and WebSocket for real-time streaming. The use of chunked CSS and JS with integrity hashes indicates attention to security and performance. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible with basic features. No CMS is detected, as the platform is a custom Mastodon instance. Performance is moderate, likely influenced by federated network interactions. Technical debt appears low, but opportunities exist to improve security headers and privacy compliance mechanisms. Hosting details are not explicit but likely managed by or for the governmental entity.
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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